Savior's Saviors
by misteeirene
Summary: Left alone in Georgia during the zombie apocalypse, Harry falls into the vicious clutches of the Claimers. Can anyone save him? Is there still a home for him in the wizarding world? Rape, abuse, language, violence
1. Chapter 1

I do not own Harry Potter or the Walking Dead

Yup another fic :) this one is 90% complete..

NOTE... THIS HAS BEEN EDITED BECAUSE OF FF RULES. UNEDITED VERSION CAN BE FOUND ON AO3.

Please review

***HP

Harry was curled up in a ball at the feet of the man that had kidnapped him months ago. Len was part a group called 'The Claimers'. Their leader Joe had named their group this because if they came across something the wanted, the first person who yelled "claimed" got the goods. Len was the first man of the group who had yelled claimed when they spotted him, and now he belonged to Len.

As bad as Len was, it could have been Dan who had claimed him. Dan was a vile, disgusting man that reminded him a lot of Wormtail in looks. The man reeked of sweat, blood, piss, shit and Merlin knew what else. He was positive that Dan hadn't washed himself or changed his clothes once since the world went to hell over a year ago.

Luckily for him Len hated Dan with a passion. Len had no problems sharing him with the five other men in the group, especially if they had something good to trade. Unfortunately for him, Joe the leader and the most brutal, had given Len a bundle of arrows for him for the evening. Joe always left him a broken and bloody mess.

At first he had fought the men, but one could only take so many beatings and broken bones before just giving up. He hated himself for it, but now he just did as Len ordered. He still got smacked around just for the fun of it, but at least he wasn't left bloody and unconscious multiple times a day.

Harry could no longer hold his tears back. He couldn't believe that this was his life now, a sex toy for the lowlife and degenerates who were too evil to die in this new horrible world. A year ago his life had finally turned around. He had defeated Voldemort during the battle at Ministry and he was finally free to live his life...or so he thought. Both his godfathers, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin, had died during the battle, both falling into the Veil together. He had begged Dumbledore to let him live with Ron and his family, but since he was still a minor, Dumbledore had returned him to his aunt and uncle. He thought he would only have to stay with them until his birthday, but he had never counted on the world going to hell and the dead walking and eating people.

Two weeks into his summer vacation, his uncle had forced him to write to Dumbledore. He had to go to America for a business convention and he had wanted his freak of a nephew to get picked up early. He didn't want to have to take him and fear that he would do something freaky around good, upstanding normal people. Dumbledore, his ever wise and knowing Headmaster, showed up two days later with a smile on his face and magic dampening cuffs. He didn't want Harry to miss out on the chance of a lifetime to visit America. After much bellowing and complaining, Vernon had given in and let Dumbledore place the cuffs on him so he could safely take him with his family to America...Atlanta Georgia to be exact.

Having his magic cut off was like having his lungs ripped out. It had been physically painful at first, but now it just felt like there was a gaping hole in his chest that constantly ached and throbbed. Despite the cuffs, his magic still tried to defend and help him when he needed it, especially now with the whole zombie thing that was going on. When that happened, the pain was almost unbearable and it left him unable to breath until his magic settled back down again.

He had tried countless times to remove the cuffs, but Dumbledore had spelled them so only he could remove them. They would eventually come off on their own, but not until he became a legal adult in whichever world he was living in, which was seventeen in the magical world, or eighteen in the muggle world. Unfortunately, he was currently in the muggle world and only turning seventeen in a few months. He still had an entire year to go before he could access his magic and he feared that he wouldn't make it that long. Honestly, he was at the point where he didn't even want to.

He was thankful that the Headmaster had at least spelled the cuffs so only he could see them. He would have had a hard time explaining pure gold wrist cuffs with Celtic designs that couldn't be removed from his wrists. Some low life scum would have probably cut his hands off in an attempt to get them.

Harry was wrenched out of his thoughts when Len gave him a swift kick in his side. "I think Joe is ready for you, boy.'

Trembling, Harry looked to Joe who was smirking at him as he slowly unbuckled his Harley Davidson belt buckle. As much as he despised Len, he would much rather him than Joe. Joe like to cause pain. It was going to be a long and painful night with the man. He would be lucky if he could move come morning.

Dan watched excitedly as Joe played with the boy. Oh how he wished that he could get a turn. He wanted the boy so damn bad that it had become physically painful for him. The boy was such a pretty little thing, and now that Len had broken him to his hand, he was the perfect submissive.

"Let's give Danny boy a show," Joe whispered in his ear.

Harry tried not to scream, but he knew if he didn't that Joe would only go harder on him.

"I would watch screaming if I were you," Joe panted. "You don't want the pretty little mouth open near Dan."

"Please," Dan pleaded, leaning forward and closer to the pretty boy.

Harry tried to free his head, the stench rolling off Dan was making him gag. How could anyone stand to smell so bad?

Joe howled with laughter as the boy fought to free his head. "He really doesn't you want near him, Danny boy."

Sweat was pouring down Dan's face as he inched closer to the boy. He was so damn close.

Bringing his hand up, Harry tried to push Dan away from him. If he had eaten anything in the last few days, it would have been in a puddle on the ground between his hands. Not only did he smell bad, but the man was filthy.

For the first time since being kidnapped and claimed by Len, he looked pleadingly at the man for help. He would promise him anything if he didn't let Dan near him.

Reaching into his backpack, Len pulled out a slingshot and loaded it with a rock. Smirking, he aimed and fired, shooting Dan between the eyes and knocking him out. "You owe me now, boy."

Crying, Harry nodded his head. He knew that he had just made a deal with the devil, but it was worth it. He was surprised that Len had come to his rescue, but the man did consider him a possession. Len also hated Dan, and he enjoyed taunting him with him whenever he could.

Closing his eyes, Harry prayed that Joe would hurry up so he could get some rest. Without his magic, he couldn't heal himself overnight. Everyday they walked for hours scavenging whatever they could find and killing the dead. It wasn't easy keeping up with them on no sleep, no food, and covered in bruises and blood. If he lagged behind, Len would get angry and start punching on him.

***HP

Harry stumbled behind Len clutching his possibly broken arm. The previous night Len had left him to hunt, and while he was gone, Dan had tried to rape him. Had it been Joe, or one of the other guys, he would have taken it, but not Dan. Luckily the other guys knew not to touch him without Len's permission, some kind of fucked up Claimers' law that Joe had come up with. You weren't to touch another's claim without their permission.

Despite the law, the other guys crowded around hooping and hollering as he tried to fight off Dan. Dan outweighed him by damn near two hundred pounds and he was a hell of a lot stronger than him. Len was only feeding him enough to keep him just barely alive. He wanted him too weak to be able to fight or run away.

Despite his weakness, he fought Dan with everything he had in him. He was covered in bruises, bite marks and an arm that felt broken, but he managed to keep Dan off of him until Len returned only thirty minutes later. Lucky, he had stumbled across a rabbit and was able to quickly kill it and return before Dan managed to rape him. It had been close, Dan had him pinned with his clothes tore off and was only seconds away from entering him. Len had been outraged and had beat the shit out of the bastard for it. He had never been so happy to see Len before and he had been sticking close to him ever since.

Joe stopped out in front of a large white house. "I say we stop here for the night, boys."

Len turned to Harry. "Looks like we get a bed tonight. If you're lucky, we'll be able to find you some new clothes."

Without lifting his head, Harry nodded. A bed and new clothes sounded great, but Len wouldn't just give them to him without him having to work for them. He was so beat down and broken that he didn't care anymore. He didn't think that there was anything out there that Len could do to him that he hadn't already done before.

Len had to physically drag the boy up the stairs. He couldn't remember the last time he fed him, and it showed with how weak he was. He had come to almost care for him, so after his nap, he planned to feed him enough so he wouldn't drop dead on him. It had been months since they had stumbled across another survivor, the boy may be his last hope for some ass so he was going to keep him around.

"Claimed!" Len bellowed loudly when he saw the comfortable queen size bed in the master bedroom. Pulling a length of rope out, he tied one end around his waist and the other around the boy's. You would think after all these months he would know his name, but he honestly didn't give a fuck.

"On your knees." Len ordered. "I need a stress reliever before sleeping."

As if on autopilot, Harry dropped to his knees and unbuckled Len's belt. He wasted no time pulling out the man's cock and getting to work on it.

"That's a good boy," Len moaned, lazily thrusting into the boy's mouth. "You finish me good and I will feed you tonight. Do you like the sound of that?"

Harry nodded his head. He hadn't had a mouthful of food in over four days. He knew his malnourished and dehydrated body would give out soon, and he was kind of looking forward to it. He was ready to die.

Len ran his fingers through the boy's greasy long hair. The kid really was pretty, he could almost pass a girl. "Look at you broken like a good little bitch to my hand. Isn't it much nicer to do as you're told instead fighting and getting you ass beat for it? Your mine boy. Remember that."

They had stumbled across the boy as he was coming out of an abandoned house a few months back. Not expecting to run into a young kid, the others had just stared at him. Quick as lightning he had yelled 'claimed' before the others could come to their senses and claim him for themselves. He didn't know how old the boy was, but he looked to only be in his early teens. He had never fucked another male before, but the boy was petite, pretty, had long hair, and the most amazing emerald eyes he had ever seen. He never regretted claiming him, no pussy had ever been as tight as his boy's ass.

Harry could feel the cock in his mouth swell so he knew that Len was seconds from coming. Taking a deep breath, he swallowed him down his throat so he wouldn't have to taste him. He despised doing this, but it beat getting one of Len's punishments. He fought plenty in the beginning, but now he just didn't have the strength anymore.

"Fuck, yeah," Len panted, releasing his load down the boy's throat. Exhausted, he collapsed onto the bed without even pulling his pants up. "Get comfortable on the floor. The bed is mine."

The bed would have been nice, but Harry was content on the floor and away from Len. All he wanted was to close his eyes and never wake up again. Laying onto his side beside the bed, he almost screamed when he came face to face with a man hiding under it.

Out of all the houses in the neighborhood, Rick couldn't believe that the gang chose this one to hold up in. He didn't need to be a cop to know that these men were very bad news. If he had needed proof though, listening as that bastard forced that poor kid to give him a blow job would have been plenty. His cop instincts had been screaming at him to help, but he was too weak and sore after the major beating he had taken from the Governor just two days before. He would have ended up dead had he tried, and he couldn't risk it with his son out wandering the neighborhood with Michonne. He had to get out of here without being seen and get to them before they returned.

Biting his tongue to keep from screaming, Harry stared at the man. He knew if he said anything to Len, the bastard would instantly kill the man. Whoever he was, he looked as though he had already been trampled by a herd of very pissed off centaurs.

Rick stared wide eyed into the most mesmerizing eyes he had ever seen. They were a stunning emerald green, but sadly filled with pain and fear. He had never seen such a dead look in a kid before, it sent shivers down his spine. He wished that he could save him, but it would be impossible.

With a trembling hand, Harry brought his finger to his lips and signed for the man to be quiet. The man may be filthy and beat, but there was a kindness in his eyes lurking behind all the pain and hardness. He didn't know why, but he didn't want to see this man killed.

Rick nodded his head, still staring into those hauntingly beautiful eyes. It was clear to see that he wasn't with the gang by choice. The boy was covered in bruises, bite marks and his clothes were hanging off of him in shreds. The boy looked to only be a few years older than his son and his heart went out to him. If there was a way, he would take him with him.

Fat tears fell from Harry's eyes onto the hardwood floor as he continued to stare at the stranger under the bed. He wanted to plead with the man to save him, but he knew that there was no way that he could. Seven against one were impossible odds. This had been the first man other than the Claimers that he had seen in a long time.

Rick wanted to reach out to the broken boy, but he didn't. It would be cruel to offer him comfort only to leave him in the end at the hands of these bastards. He had no doubt that the boy had been raped and beat countless times by them. If he had been in better condition, he would have found a way to help him. As it was, he knew that he had a few broken ribs and probably a fractured ankle.

Harry tensed when Tony came stumbling into the room. "Get the fuck up, Len. I claim this bed."

"The fuck!" Len snarled angrily. "I already claimed this bed. Go find another."

"I want this one," Tony snapped. "The others are too small."

Harry shimmied farther under the bed when Len and Tony started fighting. His fear of getting trampled had brought him almost flush against the stranger. For someone so dirty, he smelled surprisingly good. For months he had been stuck with these degenerates and their constant stench.

Rick tensed when the other man hit the ground staring right at him. The newcomer tried to get Len's attention to alert him of his presence, but Len didn't release his choke hold until Tony had passed out. "Fucker!" Len grumbled falling back onto the bed. Within seconds he was snoring loudly.

Tears still falling, Harry continued to stare into the stranger's eyes. He remained there almost an hour pressed against the man before whispering, "go". At first he didn't think the man heard him because he didn't move. He knew his voice was weak and scratchy from lack of use and from his throat constantly getting battered, but he was afraid to talk louder. Len was a very light sleeper.

Harry had to stifle a loud sob when the man gave him a resigned nod and started to shimmy out from under the bed. He could tell from the look in the man's eyes that he wanted to help him, but he was incapable of doing so. When the man looked like he was going to say something, he quickly shook his head no.

Rick knew that he had done a lot of horrible things since the apocalypse, including murdering his best friend, but leaving that boy crying under the bed was the worst yet. He could see the desperate longing in those emerald eyes, but also resignation and understanding. He wanted to whisper a thank you to him, but the kid shook his head no.

Harry continued to lay there as he cried harder than what he had in months. He had been so close to being free of Len and his gang of murderers and rapists. He knew he was going to get it when Tony told Len about the man under the bed. If he was lucky it would only be Len punishing him, but he had a feeling that Joe would step in on this punishment.

Rick looked back at the house, his heart clenching painfully in his chest. He was leaving that poor boy behind to be beat and raped. It hurt worse knowing that they wouldn't go easy on him when they found out that he knew about him being under the bed. There was no way he would have made it out with the boy though, he had hardly made out it by himself. He ended up killing one of the bastards in the bathroom during his escape, but there was no way he could have taken them all on. Oh well, that was one less rapist that could hurt the boy.

"Rick, are you alright?" Michonne asked in concern.

Rick shook his head. "No. Let's just get out of here."

***HP

"Well lookie what we have here boys," Joe chuckled, walking around the man that was just sitting in the middle of the dirt road like a dumb ass.

"That's a nice vest. I like the wings," Len sneered, standing behind the lone man. "I claim it after we kill him."

Joe looked thoughtfully down at the stranger. "I don't know, Len, he looks like one of us. What do you say stranger, want to join our little group?"

Daryl was exhausted. He had been tracking the car that had abducted Beth for hours and now the trail was cold. Unable to go on, he just sat down in the middle of the road. He didn't even have the energy to get up when he saw the group of scraggly, questionable men approaching.

When the stranger didn't answer, Joe knelt down until he was eye level with him. "A person on their own can't survive out here. I'm offering you a place in our group, I'm offering you protection."

When the silver haired man went to reach for his bow, Daryl lunged forward and punched him in the face. Quick as lightning he had his bow in his hands and pointed at the man's face. He awasn't surprised when he was surround by the rest of the group all pointing their weapons at him.

Harry protectively wrapped his arms around himself and backed away from the confrontation . It felt good watching someone knock Joe's arrogant ass down, he wished that he could get five minutes with the bastard without his magic dampening cuffs.

Flat on his ass and bleeding from the nose, Joe started laughing. "You pull that trigger, these boys are going to drop you several times over. Is that what you want?"

Daryl glared unblinkingly at the man, never lowering his bow. He may get killed, but he was taking old silver head with him.

Joe grinned cockily at the man. "Come on fellow, suicide is stupid. Why hurt yourself, when you can hurt other people?" Joe could see that the man was wavering despite still having his bow pointed at him. "The name is Joe."

Reluctantly Daryl lowered his bow. "Daryl," he grunted. He didn't want to join this group, but Joe had a point. A person on their own wouldn't survive very long, and a group of bastards was better than no group at all. Maybe if he was lucky, he would find others from the prison.

"Welcome to the group, Daryl," Joe grinned.

Daryl looked around sizing each man up. He didn't know what these men may have been like before the walkers, but now they were a group of men who would rather slit your throat than give you the time of day. His eyes froze on a young boy that had his head down and his arms wrapped protectively around himself. He wasn't sure how old he was, but he didn't look much older than Carl.

"He's claimed," Len growled. "He's mine!"

Tensing, Harry knew that Len was talking about him. The new guy was more muscular and fit than the other guys in the group and he was terrified that Len would share him with him.

"Claimed?" Daryl asked, still looking at the small boy.

"In order to keep peace in our small group and everything stress free, I laid down a few rules." Joe explained. "All you have to do is claim. That's how you mark your territory, your prey, your bed at night. One word...claimed. Len claimed the boy a few months ago, so he's his."

"Len's generous though," Tony said, leering at the boy. "If you have something he wants, he'll share a few hours with the boy as a trade. Believe me, a few hours with that tight ass is worth it."

Daryl shoved his hands in his pockets to hide his fists. He may be a total bastard, but he would never force himself on someone. Hell, even his bastard of a brother drew the line at rape.

"Let's go boys," Joe ordered. "It's going to be dark soon and we need a safe place to bunk down."

Harry whimpered when Len harshly grabbed the back of his neck and pushed him forward. Joe had punished him last night for the incident with the stranger under the bed and there wasn't a spot on his body that didn't hurt. Since he had broken one of Joe's rules, he had pulled rank over Len and whipped his back to shreds before fucking him. He had another punishment to look forward to that night. He never thought that there would come a time where he would rather be back with his aunt and uncle...until now. Sure, Uncle Vernon liked to smack him around, but at least he didn't leave him a broken mess wishing for death.

He wondered what had happened to his family. They had managed to get out of Atlanta when the dead took over, but then they skipped out on him during the middle of the night, taking all their supplies and the car. He honestly couldn't see Vernon and Petunia surviving this long. Dudley maybe, but even that was a slim chance. He had been managing on his own for a few months, despite a lot of close calls, but then he ran into Joe and his gang. Now he wished that the dead would have killed him early on.

Daryl cringed when he got his first look at the boy's face and saw all the black, red, yellow and green bruises. The boy's face was also skeletal, along with the rest of him. The group in general looked healthy so obviously they weren't feeding him.

"We'll stop here for the night," Joe called out, spotting an abandoned warehouse right off of the railroad tracks they were following.

Harry started trembling. He knew as soon as Joe was done eating he was going to punish him again. His sentence for holding out on them and getting Lou killed was to be punished however Joe saw fit every night for five days. This was only day two.

Daryl had food in his bag but he couldn't bring himself to eat anything. Everyone else was pigging out on whatever they managed to kill, while the boy was just sitting there with his head down looking at his trembling hands. They had more than enough food to share with him, but not one man was offering.

Joe wiped his dirty hands off on his jeans and stood up. "Well, boy, it's time for your punishment."

"Get up there!" Len snarled, smacking the boy on the head.

Harry swallowed his tears, he hated showing weakness. He knew by the end of the punishment he would be a blubbering mess, but he wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of hearing him beg and plead before he even got started...not that it would do him any good.

Joe walked around the trembling boy, smirking. "Boy, why are you being punished?"

Harry very seldom talked anymore, not wanting to draw anymore attention to himself then what he already had. Len also didn't like it when he talked and got violent with him when he did. "I didn't warn my claimer about the man hiding under the bed, sir," he answered in a weak voice. "Because of that, sir, Lou got killed and turned into a walker."

Joe unbuckled his belt and pulled it through the loops of his jeans. "Do you feel that you deserve to be punished?"

Harry had to bite his tongue to keep from saying what was really on his mind. His delay cost him though, Joe swung his belt and hit him in the face with it. The pain was so bad that it dropped him to his knees with a strangled cry.

"I asked you a question, boy," Joe bellowed. "Do you feel that you deserve to be punished?"

"Yes, sir," Harry choked out.

Joe bent down a petted the boy on his head. "Now was that so hard?"

Harry lifted his head, his emerald eyes swimming in tears. He could feel blood trickling down his neck from the gash now on his face. "No, sir."

Joe patted him on his head. "That's my boy. Now stand up and take your shirt off."

It was hard with how weak he was and how bad his legs were trembling, but Harry managed to stand up and remove his shirt. He gasped loudly when the shirt pulled off some scabs from last nights whipping.

Joe whistled loudly. "Damn, boy! That has got to hurt."

Disgusted, Daryl got up and headed for the door. He wasn't going to sit there and watch as they tortured that boy...or what was left of him anyway. That boy was nothing more than a walking skeleton with the skin on his back shredded off. He had seen walkers in better condition than him.

"Now where are you going, Daryl?" Joe called.

"Out," Daryl answered flatly.

"Just wait. I have an idea," Joe chuckled darkly. "I was going to offer the boy to Dan tonight since he finds him so repulsive, but as the new guy, I give you first dibs on him."

"I ain't your fucking entertainment," Daryl snarled.

Dan excitedly jumped to his feet. "Finally, I get a turn with that ass and mouth. I'm going to make you pay, bitch, for denying me for so long."

Daryl wrinkled his nose up at the fat pig. He could smell his funk from across the room.

Harry turned to Daryl, eyes desperately pleading. "Please not him," he cried, tears falling faster.

Dan was already stripping out of his clothes, showing off his brown and yellow boxers. Boxers that had originally been white. "I'm going to make you bleed."

"Fuck!" Daryl growled, storming up to the boy and grabbing his wrist. "I'll take him, but not here. How do you expect me to get it up with his stench fucking up the air?"

Joe threw his head back howling with laughter. "It's sad, but you'll get use to it."

"I don't fuck in front of others?" Daryl growled.

"You got a small cock?" Len taunted. "I never gave you permission to fuck my claim anyway." Getting to his feet, he grabbed the boy's other wrist and roughly tugged him forward, grinning when he screamed in pain. He suspected that he had a broken arm.

"Now hold up," Joe snapped. "You may not have given him permission, but he's mine tonight to punish how I see fit. The boy can't take another lashing without killing him, so he either gets fucked by Dan, or fucked by Daryl."

Daryl was shocked when the boy grabbed him with more strength then what he expected his small body to have. "Please," Harry whispered.

Snarling, Daryl yanked the boy out of Len's hold. "He's fucking mine tonight, but I'm not a show for you fuckers to masturbate to."

"No!" Dan roared. "You said that he would be mine for the night."

Joe narrowed his eyes at Daryl. "Alright, I'll let you take the boy out for the night, but your bow stays here. You can take one blanket, your bag, a knife and some food. He better be limping in the morning."

Dragging the half naked boy with him, Daryl grabbed what supplies he was allowed and stormed out of the building. He continued to drag him until he was deep into the woods about a mile away from the others. Without saying a word, he tossed his blanket down on the ground and pushed the boy onto it.

"Don't move," Daryl warned before storming back off again.

Shivering from both the chill in the air and his fear, Harry huddled in on himself. He didn't know anything about this man, but he was a far cry better than Dan, not to mention that he didn't smell that bad. He couldn't believe that he was getting away without another lashing, he had been dreading it all day.

Daryl angrily stormed back, and without looking at the boy or saying anything to him, he got to work building a fire then skinning two rabbits.

Harry stomach cramped painfully at the smell of the rabbits roasting. He tried not to look at them, at their juices dripping into the flames, but they were like a magnet to his eyes.

Daryl finally approached the boy, hovering threateningly over him. "On your stomach."

Wiping at his eyes, Harry quickly obeyed. "Thank you for saving me from Dan. I would rather have my throat slit than be touched by him," he said softly.

Daryl grimaced at the mess the boy's back was. There was at least thirty lashes criss-crossing his back, most of them bleeding or oozing puss. Walking all day in the Georgia heat and sweating without them being properly treated had caused some of the lashes to start festering already.

Whimpering, Harry jumped when Daryl touched his back. The thought of being fucked again, especially with his ass still bleeding from his time with Joe the night before, had him wanting to vomit.

"I ain't gonna fuck you," Daryl snapped in disgust. "I ain't like them fuckers."

Shocked, Harry looked hopefully over his shoulder, wincing when it caused the skin on his back to bunch up.

"Don't move," Daryl growled. "I'm going to clean this up as best as I can, but it's going to hurt like a bitch."

Harry dropped his head and braced himself for the pain. He couldn't believe that this man wasn't going to hurt him like the others had. Not only was he not going to hurt him, but he was actually going to help him.

Daryl tried to work quickly at cleaning the boy's back with some heated bottled water and some antibotic cream, but the damage was extensive. He could see that the boy was trying to be tough, but the tears fell anyway.

"What's your name?" Daryl asked, hoping to distract the boy from his pain.

Harry shyly looked at the man. "You are the first to ask me my name." He answered softly. "It's been so long since I heard it that I'm surprised I even remember it. Harry...Harry Potter."

"Daryl Dixon," Daryl grunted. "How old are you and how long have you been with those degenerates?"

"I don't know exactly how long I have been with them, but I'm guessing it's been at least four to six month. Time is a blur anymore when you don't have a watch or a calendar. I don't even know the month or date. I'll be turning seventeen the end of July...whenever that is."

Daryl snorted. "Neither do I." He couldn't believe that the boy was sixteen, he sure as hell didn't look it. "So, you're being punished?"

Harry gasped when Daryl pushed down on a very deep cut in order to clean it. "Y-Yeah. Yesterday when raiding a house, I spotted a man hiding under the bed. He was in real bad shape, someone had beat him good. I knew if the gang found out about him they would kill him, so I didn't say anything. He was able to escape, but not before killing one of the Claimers."

"Wha'd he look like?" Daryl got up, helping the boy to sit up too.

"Late thirties, early forties maybe. He had dark brown wavy hair that came to just above his shoulders with a shaggy beard. His eyes were blue, hard, but kind at the same time. He had been roughed up bad, his face was a mess and his nose looked broken."

Daryl tried not to get his hopes up, but the boy's description sounded a lot like Rick. "Did you see anyone else?"

"No," Harry answered, wrapping his arms around his bare chest and arms. He didn't understand why he was so cold, it had to be in the mid seventies out. "But, Joe has been tracking him and he said that he met up with two other people, one possibly a kid going by the footprints."

"Damn," Daryl mumbled, it had to be Rick and Carl. He didn't need to ask why Joe was tracking them, it was obvious that he planned to kill them. Looking at the broken boy in front of him, he knew that Carl would end up just like him if they got their vile hands on him. This boy had been raped and beaten for months.

Digging through his bag, Daryl grabbed a small bottle of Advil. "Here," he said, handing him two. "You're running a fever."

Harry gratefully took the Advil and swallowed them without any water. The fever explained why he was so cold. "Thank you for helping me, your the first since this started. The guy under the bed looked like he wanted to, but he was too beat up and outnumbered."

Taking the rabbits off of the fire, Daryl handed one to the boy. "When was the last you ate?"

Harry tore into the rabbit like a starved animal. "Days!" He said around a mouthful of food. "Len only feeds me twice a week. Oh my god, this is so good," he moaned in embarrassment.

Daryl had to find a way to get the boy away from the gang. He just didn't know how to do that without getting himself killed. For now, he was going to have to stick with them and pretend that he was one of them. He also needed to get to Rick and Carl before Joe did.

"We need to get some sleep, but one last question? Why the fuck are you wearing two gold bracelets with funny designs on them?"

"What?" Harry stared at Daryl, wide eyes. "You...you can see them?" That shouldn't happen, Daryl shouldn't be able to see the magic dampening cuffs. The only two people in the world who should be able to see them were Headmaster Dumbledore and himself. Not even another witch of wizards could see them, not that Daryl was a wizard. He could sense magic in others, and Daryl had no magic.

"D'fuck! Of course I can see them. Just seems odd to be wearing gaudy gold bracelets like then in a zombie apocalypse."

"Family heirloom," Harry mumbled distractedly. How the hell was it that Daryl could see the cuffs?

***HP

"How was your night?" Joe smirked.

Daryl watched in disgust as Harry limped to Len, head down and hands trembling. He felt like the biggest ass that morning when he told the boy that they had to return to the group. He tried to hide it, but he didn't miss how is eyes teared up.

"He's tight, that's all that matters," Daryl muttered in self loathing. He didn't even like pretending that he raped Harry.

Joe patted him on the back. "I'm sure Len will let you taste him again. For the right price, of course."

Len back handed the boy as soon as he got within arms reach. "You filthy cunt, spreading it for the new guy." He was furious that he had to share his claim with the new guy. There was something about the guy that rubbed him the wrong way. He didn't like him, and he didn't like the fact that he fucked his boy.

Blood flooded Harry's mouth as he fell to the ground. "M'sorry," he whimpered.

Len was on him, tearing at his clothes. "I'll show you who you belong to, you disgusting cum dump."

"Don't," Joe warned, clamping his hand firmly on Daryl's shoulder. "He's Len's claim, he's allowed to do what he wants. Come, walk with me outside."

Daryl hated leaving the boy to Len, but there was nothing he could do, not without getting himself killed. Without looking back, he followed Joe out the door, but not before he heard Len tell Harry that not only was he going to fuck him, but as punishment, so was Tony, Billy and Harley.

"Look, Daryl," Joe said, addressing the younger man once they were outside. "You're a good man and I respect you for that. But in this new world, good will get you killed. I knew that you wouldn't rape that boy last night which is why I tricked you into taking him. I'm not a completely evil man, that boy is weeks away from dying. Len wants him weak and unable to run away so he doesn't feed him. I didn't want to have to punish him for what he did, but I couldn't let him get away with it. If I lose the respect and fear that my men have for me, then one night they will slit my throat in my sleep. My men and I also need an outlet for our stress, and that boy is a damn fine outlet."

"Len doesn't see that boy as a human, but he is his rightful claimer and I can only interfere so much. I had planned on whipping him again last night until I saw his infected back. I couldn't be seen as weak by cleaning him up, but I had a feeling that you would. Now don't get me wrong, I'm a selfish man. I don't care for that boy as a human, only for what he can do for me and my men. People are rare anymore, especially those pretty enough to want to fuck, and that boy is very pretty...and very fuckible."

"You need to stop seeing that boy, or anyone else we run into, as people. It comes down to survival of the fittest, kill or be killed. Men like you and I were meant for this world, we are survivors. We know what needs to be done and we do it. You're a good fit for my group, you just need to follow my rules. If you don't like how we treat that boy, close your eyes and don't watch."

Daryl wanted to rip the man's throat out, but all he did was nod his head. He was going to save Harry from these monsters, and kill them all in the process. It wasn't fair that good people like Hershel, Dale, T-Bone, Lori and Andrea died, while scum of the earth like these fuckers were still alive to torture what good people were left.

Daryl waited outside while Joe went back inside. He knew that the bastard was going to join his men in raping Harry. It killed him knowing what was happening and being helpless to do anything. He didn't know Harry, but he seemed like a good kid. Even if he was a little shit, he didn't deserve to be treated like that. He just hoped that they didn't let Dan rape Harry, the man was vile, and being raped by him could probably send Harry over the edge. It was a miracle that the boy had lasted this long without just giving up.

An hour later the six men came out, all looking happy and satisfied...except for Dan. Dan was glaring at Len looking like he wanted to put a bullet in his head. A few minutes later Harry literally came stumbling out, eyes red and swollen, clothes torn, blood dripping from his nose , left eye and bottom lip busted open. He could barely walk and he was dragging his left leg instead of fully picking it up.

***HP

Harry slowly shuffled behind the group. He had been trying to keep up, but he was in just too much pain. The five men had been brutal on him this last time and he just couldn't take it any longer. Hearing the brush next to him rustle, he stopped and watched as a walker came stumbling out. He chuckled sadly when he noticed that he was walking exactly like the zombie.

Harry watched as the walker got closer. His first instinct was to run, but he was done. He would rather be eaten by the walker then continue to be abused and raped by these men. Taking a deep breath, he relaxed his body and closed his eyes. He knew that it would hurt, but he had been living in constant pain for months now. He could suffer through a few minutes of intense pain before it would be gone for good.

Harry smiled when he felt the walkers breath on his neck and his hands grabbing at his arms. He went to lean in to greet death, but then the walker was gone. Snapping his eyes open, he stared in horror at the dead walker at his feet. He had been so close.

"What d'fuck!" Daryl snarled, wrenching his knife out of the walkers skull.

Harry started gasping for air, tears pouring down his face. "Why did you kill it? Didn't you see, it was saving me?"

"Fuck that shit!" Daryl snarled, getting into the boy's face. His heart damn near stopped beating when he saw Harry just stand there and wait for the walker to get him. The broken kid had even looked happy about it. He understood the boy's reasoning, but that didn't stop him from being pissed. There was something about the boy that made him feel overly protective of him.

"Please kill me," Harry whispered, looking fearfully to where Len was standing with the rest of the group laughing.

"No," Daryl growled, shaking his head.

"Please," Harry sobbed. "Please put me out of my misery."

Daryl grabbed the back of the boy's head and brought his face close to his. "I will save you from them," he whispered so the others couldn't hear. "Just give me a few days."

"Promise," Harry choked. "Promise me that if you can't save me in a few days that you will kill me. Put an arrow in my heart or a bullet between my eyes, just please put me down."

"I'll save you and I won't have to put you down."

"Hey!" Len yelled, angrily stalking to the pair. "Get your filthy hands off my claim."

Daryl stepped back away from Harry. "Next time protect your claim instead expecting everyone else to do it."

Len balled his hand into a fist. "Why you..."

"Enough," Joe snarled. "Why you guys fuck around, our pray is getting farther away. Now let's get going."

"I don't want to see you anywhere near him," Len warned. "He's mine."

Baring his teeth, Daryl turned and stormed away. He was going to take pleasure in putting an arrow between that fucker's eye. Maybe he would shove one up his ass first, see how he likes it.

***HP

Joe dropped his bags down on the railroad tracks. "Guess we'll make camp here tonight boys. It's dark and I can no longer see the trail."

Feeling dizzy, Harry collapsed right where he was standing. They had been walking for over twelve hours and he was exhausted. They had always moved a lot, but not normally that much in one day. It didn't help that he was in excruciating pain before they even started.

"Daryl," Joe called. "Why don't you see if you can hunt up some dinner, I'll share some spices with you if you do."

Daryl looked to Harry but the boy was already asleep. He didn't like leaving him, but he hadn't eaten all day and he had nothing left in his stash. With a nod, he grabbed his crossbow and slipped off into the night.

Joe watched him go until he was out of sight and hearing. "Alright boys, the fucker who killed Lou is about two miles up the road. I spotted his camp when I went scouting ahead. I got rid of Dixon because he's soft and not ready for one of our raids. Wake the boy and let's get going."

Smirking, Len gave the boy a swift kick in his side. "Get up you lazy ass. We're moving."

Groaning, Harry got up and stumbled after Len. Looking around, he noticed that Daryl wasn't anywhere in sight. He hoped that nothing happened to him, he was counting on him ending his misery.

Joe strode confidently into the campsite, he wasn't worried about a beat up man, a girl and a kid. "Look like it's party time boys."

"I claim the boy," Dan cried excitedly, leering at the kid that looked even younger than the boy that they already had. He wasn't as pretty as the other boy, but an ass was an ass. He didn't need to look at the face in order the fuck the ass.

Rick went for his gun but he wasn't fast enough. "I don't think so partner," Joe chuckled, pointing his gun at the man's temple. "You killed one of ours, now it's time for payback. First we'll take the boy while you watch, then the girl. Your death will be slow and very painful, but you'll dying knowing that you couldn't save them from the fate of being our fuck toys."

"Let me go!" Carl screamed, voice cracking.

Dan threw the kid on the ground and started tearing at his pants. He had spent months watching as all the others got to fuck the pretty little boy, he wasn't waiting another minute to tear into this kid's ass. This young one was feisty, like the pretty one was in the beginning. He couldn't wait to break him like Len broke his claim.

"Looks like I'm going to get me some dark chocolate," Tony said, licking his lips at the woman he had at gunpoint. "It's been a long time since I had a pussy. You won't be as tight as the boy, but you'll still make a good cock sleeve."

"Leave him alone!" Rick roared, dying inside because he was helpless to save his son. He knew these men from the house and he knew what they were capable of.

"Get off of him," Harry cried, pushing at Dan. He couldn't let Dan rape the boy, he was even younger than him.

Grinning, Dan back handed the pretty boy and sent him flying. "Jealous, bitch?"

Harry got to his feet, spitting a mouthful of blood out on the dirt. "Take me," he offered, pulling off his shirt and unbuttoning his pants. "You have wanted me for months, now is your chance. I won't even fight you."

Rick watched as the fat bastard climbed off his son and advanced on the boy with the haunting eyes. Seeing as the man with the gun was watching what was going on with the boys and not paying attention to him, he flung his head back and thrust it as hard as he could in the man's gut.

Harry tried not to vomit when Dan grabbed him, spun him around and pushed his groin into his ass. For months he had done everything in his power to keep this man off of him, and now, here he was freely offering himself up.

Dan had no trouble pushing the pretty boy's pants down, not with how skinny he was. Quickly fumbling with his own pants, he pulled out his cock and pushed the boy forward and onto his hands and knees.

Tony turned to cheer Dan on, never expecting the woman to be trouble. He was shocked when she kicked his arm, not only causing him to drop his gun, but also breaking his arm.

Len took a step forward to help Joe, when someone steeped into his path. He opened his mouth to yell at the new guy when he punched him in the face, dropping him to his knees.

Harry started sobbing when he felt Dan's cock nudging at his hole. Right when he felt the bastard start to push in, a whistling sound went past his ear and Dan fell to his side next to him. Scrambling to his feet and pulling up his pants, Harry looked up in time to see Daryl lowering his bow. Wide eyed, he looked down at his feet where Dan lay with an arrow sticking out of the back of his head.

Joe grabbed the man that killed Lou in a tight bear hug. "What are you going to do now?" he growled.

Seeing red, Rick lunged forward, sinking his teeth into the man's neck and tearing out a huge chunk. Spitting it out, he watched as the man started choking on his own blood. Grabbing his gun, he shot the man, then turned and shot the man that was fighting with Michonne.

Michonne grabbed her gun and shot the man that was getting ready to shoot Daryl. She was getting ready to shoot the man with long dark hair when Daryl yelled. "No! He's mine."

Rick rushed to his son who was sitting on the ground with his legs drawn up to his chest. "Are you alright?"

Carl nodded his head. "Yeah, dad, that other boy saved me."

Rick looked around until his eyes fell on a small form huddled up against the tree. "You sure you're not hurt?" he asked his son one more time, eyes still glued in the small boy under the tree.

"Yeah, he...he didn't..."

Rick grabbed his son and pulled him into a tight hug. "Will you be alright while I check on the other boy?"

"Is he one of them?" Carl asked, still clinging to his father. He wasn't stupid, he was fourteen years old and he knew exactly what the man was going to do to him.

"No, son, I don't believe so. I think they have been holding him captive."

"Alright, just be careful." Carl got up and walked to Michonne, who also pulled him into a hug.

Len looked around, his entire group was dead. The only one left was the boy. Turning to run, he froze when the cold tip of an arrow poked him between the eyes.

"I am going to take great pleasure in killing you." Daryl snarled. "I wish that I could make you suffer the way you made Harry suffer, but I don't want to look at your fucking ugly face any longer than what I have to."

Rick slowly approached the boy, he looked like a terrified animal ready to bolt. "Thank you for saving my son." he said softly and calmly.

Harry didn't know what to do. His first instinct was to run now that everyone but

Len was dead, but he was too scared and weak. He didn't know if Daryl and the other guy were anything like Joe and his group, but he didn't want to stick around to find out. He was trying to will his body to move, but it seemed that it had completely given out on him.

"Please don't hurt me," Harry whimpered when the man from under the bed approached him.

Rick knelt down in front of the boy and shook his head no. "No one here will hurt you. I promise. My name is Rick Grimes, my son is Carl and the woman over there is Michonne. I take it you know Daryl?"

Harry looked over the man's shoulder to where Daryl was standing with an arrow to Len's head. "He promised that he would save me from them," he answered softly.

Rick scratched at his beard, grimacing when his hand came away covered in blood...Joe's blood "Daryl is a good guy. He may look a little scary and come off as grouchy and uncaring, but he has a big heart and will do anything for those he cares about."

"But he doesn't know me. Why would he offer to help me when he didn't even know me?"

"Why did you help me when I was hiding under the bed?" Rick asked. "You didn't know me, and yet you still helped me."

Harry looked back at Rick, relaxing a little when he saw the gentleness in his eyes. "They would have killed you."

"I thank you for not telling on me. I have a son about your age and it makes me sick thinking about what could have happened to him and Michonne if they would have returned to the house while they were still there."

Harry dropped his head in shame, he didn't have to imagine it, he had been living it for months.

"Do you have a group somewhere? Anyone that you were with?"

Wiping his eyes, Harry shook his head no. "I was on my own when they found me."

Rick slowly held his hand out. "You welcome to join us...as one of us. We'll take care of you and help protect you. You won't be beat, raped or starved, I promise."

Harry looked at the man's hand, and despite it being covered in cuts and blood, he reached out with a trembling hand and took it. Biting his lip, he couldn't hold back the sobs that wracked his frail body. This man was offering him safety and companionship, something he hadn't had in close to two years. Technically ever if you counted his life with his relatives and all the shit at Hogwarts and with Voldemort.

After the world went to hell and he had to flee Atlanta with his relatives, he had expected Dumbledore or someone from the Order to come and get him. He knew that the outbreak was worldwide, but he figured that wizards had ways of warding to keep the zombies away. Everyday he waited for someone or for an owl from Ron or Hermione...but nothing. He hadn't heard a peep from the wizarding world and that both angered and scared him. What if they were all dead? Then again, what if they just didn't care enough about him to come looking for him?

Rick gently pulled the boy into his chest, stopping and giving him time to relax when he felt him tense. "I promise that I won't hurt you."

Harry laid his head against Rick's chest as he cried. It confused him, but for some reason he trusted this man. He didn't know if it was his eyes or his voice, but something about Rick drew him in like a moth to a flame. It was the same with Daryl. For some reason his instincts were screaming that Rick and Daryl were safe.

Rick held the boy as he cried himself to sleep. He cringed as he rubbed his back and felt every bone protruding. There was nothing to the kid, nothing but bones and skin. For the past few days he couldn't stop thinking about him, hating himself for leaving him there in that house with those disgusting men. He couldn't believe that he was here now with him, both him and Daryl.

Michonne approached with a blanket and carefully laid it over the boy. "Is he alright?"

"No," Rick answered sadly. "It's going to be a long time before he is alright."

"He was willing to let that pig rape him in order to save Carl from being raped," Michonne spat in disgust.

"He's the kid that I was telling you about from the house." Rick explained. "He didn't tell them that I was hiding under the bed and I'm sure they punished him for that."

"They did," Daryl growled, dragging Len to them by his hair. "What do I do with this fucker? I want to put an arrow between his eyes, but didn't know if I should wait to give Harry the opportunity to do it."

"Harry," Rick murmured, finally learning the boy's name. "I don't think Harry needs to wake up and see him still here. I vote just kill him."

"Hey, just wait a minute," Len protested. "Let me join your group. I'm a good a shot and the only way to survive is in a group."

Daryl watched how Harry started whimpering and twitching in his sleep when he heard Len's voice. He would have liked to have given Harry the choice to get his revenge on the fucker, but Rick was right. Harry needed to start healing, not wake to that bastard leering at him."

Rick placed a comforting hand on the back of Harry's head. Turning to Daryl with fire in his eyes, he growled, "do it!"

Daryl shoved Len as hard as he could, knocking him onto his ass. Before he could recover, Daryl aimed and fired, shooting him directly between the eyes. Without saying anything, he bent down and grabbed him by the back of his leather jacket and drug him out of the campsite. He was exhausted, but he was going to remove every trace of the Claimers so Harry wouldn't have to see them again when he woke.


	2. Chapter 2

I do not own Harry Potter or The Walking Dead

Hope everyone enjoys this chapter and leaves me a review :)

***HP

Carl was still feeling extremely shook up over the night before. He had come close to being raped and it was going to take him a while to get over that. He could still feel that fat man laying on top of him and smell his horrid stench...which was a lot worse than the walkers. Just thinking about it was enough to cause him to throw up in his mouth.

"You ok?" Michonne asked, noticing how Carl was just staring off into space. She had been keeping a close eye on him since the attack. The kid was tough, but rape could break the strongest of people.

Carl looked over to where the boy was still sleeping, buried under a blanket and close to the fire. It wasn't even cold out and he could see that the boy was still shivering. "We need to find him some new clothes," he said in a dead voice. Last night he couldn't wait to get out of the clothes he had been wearing when that man pawed all over him. He just felt dirty and disgusting. He couldn't imagine how Harry must feel after spending months being raped by those monsters.

"I think we could all use some fresh clothes," Rick said, staring down at his blood stained shirt. "We will hit some houses after Daryl gets back from hunting." He was anxious to get moving, sitting in one spot out in the open wasn't safe, but he didn't have the heart to wake Harry. The boy was dead to the world, he had hardly twitched a muscle since he settled him next to the fire the night before.

"Are we still headed for Terminus?" Michonne asked.

"I think if there are any survivors from our group, that they will be heading there. Daryl and Beth made it out, so hopefully the others did too."

Daryl came walking back into camp with a couple rabbits dangling from his shoulder. Immediately his eyes sought out and landed on Harry, quickly checking over his condition. "I scouted the area, there is a neighborhood about a mile south of here. Hopefully we can find some food and clothes."

Harry didn't want to wake up, but the smell of food was causing his stomach to rumble and cramp painfully. Slowly opening his eyes, he took in his surroundings before quickly sitting up. It all came rushing back to him...they were dead, the Claimers were dead. He was finally free of them.

"Easy, Harry," Rick said gently, handing the boy a plate of food with some rabbit meat and grapes on it.

Harry just stared at the plate for a few minutes before taking it with a trembling hand. "Thank you," he said softly. His head was still feeling fuzzy and he thought for a second that he was dreaming. He had been waiting for the plate to be yanked away from him when he reached out for it by a laughing Len. The bastard loved taunting him like that.

"Harry, are you up to doing some walking?" Rick asked, watching as the boy tore into his food. They had split two rabbits between the three of them, but decided to give Harry his own. The boy was so thin that it was freighting. "There are some homes about a mile from here and we are in need of some clothes and food. Daryl was also telling me that your back was pretty tore up so maybe we can find some stuff to clean it up and treat it."

"I'll be fine, Sir," Harry said shyly. Honestly, the thought of walking made him want to cry, all he wanted to do was sleep for a week. Everything on his body hurt, especially his back.

Rick smiled at the boy. "It's just Rick, nothing formal around here. We'll get moving when you're done eating, just give a yell if you need to rest." He was worried about the boy, with those flushed cheeks he had to have a fever.

Harry was surprised when the group walked at his pace, which wasn't very fast. Not once did they yell at him or push him to go faster. He was doing the best he could, but his head was throbbing so bad that it even had his teeth hurting.

"Harry, I want you to carry this?" Rick said, holding out a pistol.

"What!" Harry gulped, staring fearfully at the gun.

"Haven't you ever shot a gun?" Rick asked, still holding the gun out.

Harry shook his head. "No, never."

With a sigh, Rick put the gun back in his holster. "How did you survive before...?"

"Before them?" Harry asked, shivering at the reminder of the Claimers. "I'm fast. I grew up with a bully for a cousin and an Aunt and Uncle who encouraged him. I learned at a young age how to run, duck, and hide."

"A good skill to have nowadays," Rick chuckled. "Still, I want you to learn. I would feel better if you had a gun on you incase we run into trouble.

Harry couldn't believe that Rick was going to give him a gun and teach him how to use it. "That would be great. Thank you, " he smiled.

Rick's heart skipped a beat at seeing Harry smile. "I don't want you to ever feel helpless again. If something happens to us, I want you to be able to protect yourself. Unfortunately, walkers aren't the only monsters out there."

Harry nodded his head in understanding. He would rather take on a thousand walkers then another Len. "Thank you for helping me and thank you for the food."

"You don't have to thank us," Rick said, wishing that he could reach out and comfort the boy. He didn't know what it was that was drawing him to Harry, but there was something about him that he couldn't resist.

By the time they cleared the first house, Harry was close to passing out. His vision had been getting blurrier with each step and now he could hardly see.

"Dad, I found some iodine, rubbing alcohol, epsom salt, peroxide, triple antibiotic cream, Advil and some penicillin." Carl called, rushing back into the room where his dad had Harry laid out on the couch with his shirt off.

"Son of a bitch!" Carl hissed when he saw Harry's back. "How has he been able to walk all this time?"

Rick took the medical supplies from his son. "Harry may be small, but he's tough. Anyone else would have given up after a night with those monsters. Harry is a fighter."

Michonne came in carrying a pot of hot water that she had heated outside over a fire. "Daryl went to see what he could find next door."

"I wish Hershel was here," Rick said wistfully, eyes watering up at the thought of the old veterinarian who had become a second father to him. He didn't deserve to die by decapitation, he was a good man who went out of his way to help others.

Michonne took a seat on the floor by Harry's head. "Hey you, you still awake?"

Harry's eyes weakly fluttered open but he really wasn't seeing much. He was just so tired. "I'm ok," he mumbled weakly.

"Sure you are," Michonne said sarcastically. "This is your lucky day, I found some powdered juice mix. Nothing like some grape Kool Aid to get you feeling better. I also hit the jackpot on pain meds, Percocet...courtesy of the old grandma that lived in the house next door who had broken her hip."

Harry managed to sit up just enough to drink the juice and pop the pills. The juice tasted amazing, especially after spending close to a year drinking nothing but muddy water. Len had found other beverages during their raids, but he never shared them with him.

Michonne winced as she looked at Harry's back. Most of the lash marks were infected, which was why he was running a fever. "I'm not going to lie to you kid, this is going to hurt like a bitch."

"I know," Harry said tearfully. "I'll be alright."

"Michonne, I'm going to start by placing strips of cloth soaked in Epsom salt over his back to loosen the dried blood and dirt, can you come back here and give me a hand?"

Harry grit his teeth and tried not to cry out loud, but the pain of Rick cleaning his back was as bad as when Joe first whipped him. He was scratching at the couch trying to keep from moving when someone grabbed both his hands in a tight grip.

"Squeeze my hands as hard at you need," Daryl said, kneeling at the front of the couch.

Harry grabbed Daryl's hands and squeezed. Despite his best efforts, he couldn't stop the tears from falling or his pain filled whimpers. The Percocet Michonne had given him wasn't helping a bit.

"I'm sorry," Rick grimaced. "I'm trying to go as fast as I can but this is pretty bad."

"S'alright," Harry sobbed.

"Look at me kid," Daryl ordered. "Where are you originally from?" he asked when Harry turned his head to look at him. "You sure as hell don't have a Georgia accent."

"E-England," Harry said breathlessly. "I lived with my aunt, uncle and cousin, we were here for a business convention."

"Sounds boring," Daryl grumbled. "I ain't never owned me a suit. What happened to them?"

"Left me," Harry said, doing his best to focus on Daryl's warm eyes instead of the searing pain coming from his back. "We were in an abandoned house for the night, and when I woke, they were gone."

"They just left you?" Carl asked in disbelief.

"They never liked me much. I'm actually surprised that they didn't feed me to a walker in the very beginning," Harry chuckled darkly.

Daryl pried one of his hands free and started raking his fingers through the boy's hair trying to relax him. Rick was thankfully almost done, he was just spreading some antibiotic cream over the wounds. "We won't leave you, I can promise you that. You're one of us now."

Harry gave Daryl and sheepish grin. He didn't know if he was just extremely exhausted, or if the pain pills were finally kicking in, but he was starting to feel like he was floating. "You're so nice," he slurred.

"You look stoned," Daryl chuckled, inspecting the boy's eyes. "How the hell much Percocet did you give him?" he asked, looking to Michonne.

"Two, but looks like that was too much?"

"You think?" Daryl snickered. "There ain't nothing to him, a half would have worked for him."

"I likes s'you," Harry said dreamily, voice heavily slurred. "I likes Rick s'too. You're bofths so nice. Can you takes s'me back to Hogwarts please?"

Daryl sat back, shaking his head at the boy. If the boy got this bad just off of two pain pills, he would hate to see him drunk. "What the hell is a Hogwarts?"

Giggling, Harry brought his finger up to cover his mouth. "Shhh, it's a she'cret. I'm not allowed to tells you'z abouts my school...Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." Harry started to giggle harder. "Hoooogwarts, that's a funny name. Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Hoggy, Hogwarts," he sang.

"The kid has completely lost touch with reality," Daryl chuckled.

Rick carefully laid a clean sheet over Harry's back. "He's got one hell of an imagination, I'll give him that."

"S'real," Harry pouted, bottom lip hanging out. "Ima wizard. I even have a wand."

"Can you show us magic?" Carl asked curiously. He didn't believe him for a second, but he thought it would be fun to humor him anyway."

"Can't!" Harry cried loudly. "Stupid Dumbleeedore put shiny bracelets on me so I wouldn't acc-acc-accidentally use magic." Still giggling, Harry held his hands up and gave them a shake. "But you cants sees them, he magicked thems so you couldn't sees."

"I can see them," Daryl said, rolling his eyes in exasperation. "Both gold bracelets are easy to see."

"What are you talking about?" Michonne asked, picking up Harry's hand to inspect it. "I don't see a gold bracelet."

"Don't fuck with me," Daryl growled. "The boy is wearing two gaudy golden bracelets with Celtic designs on them."

Michonne could tell that Daryl wasn't trying to play a joke on her. "I don't know what's going on, Daryl, but I don't see any damn bracelets."

"Neither do I," Carl said looking perplexed.

Harry poked Daryl in the chest. "Yours nots shupossed to see thems. Just me."

Rick walked around the couch and knelt down next to Harry. Taking the bony wrist in his hand, he held it up and fingered the golden bracelet. "I see them too."

With the left side of his cheek buried in the couch cushion, Harry grinned goofily at Rick. "There you are, my friend. Why'd you looking all blurry?"

"Cause your high off your ass," Daryl chuckled.

"Oooh," Harry giggled. "I onche flew my broom really high, it was fun."

Rick gently laid his hand on Harry's forehead. "He's burning up. I would say it's the fever, but that doesn't explain why Daryl and I can see the bracelets and the two of you can't."

"You guys honestly see the bracelets?" Carl asked.

"Yeah," Rick answered, "They look old, like something out of the renaissance age."

Harry shook his head. "Nopes, they're froms the wizarding world age. I don't likes thems though, locks my magic and hurts."

"Then take them the hell off." Daryl barked.

Harry looked sadly at Daryl. "I cants, they're shtuck. Stupid Headmaster shpelled thems so I can't takes off." Harry gave a big yawn. "M'tired now and the room won't shtop spinning. I'm going to sleep."

Rick chuckled when the boy started snoring softly. "Well, I don't know what the hell is going on, but hopefully he can clear things up when he wakes. Let's just remember to seriously cut back on the pain meds next time."

***HP

"Do you think we should wake him?" Rick asked Daryl. "It's been over twenty four hours.

Daryl shoved a handful of stale chips into his mouth. "Leave him. His body needs the rest."

"I know, I'm just anxious to get to Terminus. If we made it out then I'm hopeful that Glenn and Maggie did too."

"Did you want to go on ahead with Michonne and Carl? I can stay with the boy wizard." Daryl snickered.

Rick really didn't like that plan. Just the thought of leaving Harry sent a cold chill down his spine. "No, we stick together. We're safer in numbers and we're family, family sticks together. Terminus could also be a trap."

Daryl was distracted from responding to Rick when Harry started moving. "Easy, kid, watch your back." The lacerations were healing surprisingly fast, but they were still nasty. There were no more signs of infections and his fever broke about eight hours ago.

Harry could still feel the burning in his back, but it was so much better now. Feeling well rested for once, he slowly opened his eyes and blinked a few times until his vision cleared. "Hi," he smiled when Rick and Daryl came into focus.

"How are you feeling?" Rick asked.

Harry tried to sit up but his body was very stiff and weak. He blushed when both Daryl and Rick rushed to help him up. "Better, I think. Thanks."

Daryl held out the bag of chips he was munching on. "They're stale and taste like shit, but it's food."

Harry hid his face behind his hair when his stomach rumbled obscenely. "Thanks," he mumbled, taking a handful of chips.

"I'll heat you up some can soup for you," Rick offered. "We also have some delicious stale crackers to go with it and cheese in a can."

"That actually sounds really good." Harry said, eyes sparkling at the thought of something besides rabbit meat. Looking around, he noticed that Michonne and Carl were missing. "Where are the others?"

"Raiding the other houses," Daryl explained. "We managed to find you some clothes to change into, and when you're ready, we'll heat up some water for you to wash up in. There's a farm down the street with a well." Normally they wouldn't indulge in such a luxury, but they figured that Harry would want a good cleaning after everything he had been through.

"That sounds amazing," Harry smiled. He had taken plenty of dips in the streams and ponds, but no real clean water. He was desperate to wash the feel of those men off of him.

"Here you go," Rick called, walking in with a tray full of food.

Harry mouth watered at the smell of hot chicken noodle soup. "Oh Merlin, this is the best I have eaten in...I don't really remember. I guess it would have been the leaving feast at my school."

"What was the name of your school?" Rick asked, fishing for answers. They still hadn't been able to figure how they could see the bracelets and Michonne and Carl couldn't.

Harry chocked on the cheese cracker that he had just popped into his mouth. "Oh...uhm...H-Hopkins Academy," he stuttered weakly.

Daryl and Rick exchanged looks. It was obvious that the boy was lying to them. "Harry," Rick sighed." Michonne accidentally gave you too much pain medication last night and it caused you to act high, or drunk. You said some pretty crazy stuff."

Harry started to nervously fidget. "Right, well I guess the meds made me a little whacky." He didn't remember a damn thing, but by their looks, he must have said something about magic.

"You said that you went to a witchcraft school called Hogwarts," Daryl came right out and said.

"I... Well... It must have been..." Harry didn't know what to say, he was too weak and sick to come up with a quick and believable lie. He was also terrified that they would walk out on him. "Crazy imagination, huh?"

"Please calm down," Rick soothed when he noticed that Harry's eyes were filling with tears. "We're not mad at you, just curious." Rick pointed to Harry's wrists. "How come Daryl and I can see those, but Michonne and my son can't?"

Harry dropped his hands onto his lap in an attempt to hide them. "You can see them too?" he asked softly. He didn't understand why they could see them, no one was supposed to be able to see them.

Rick slowly reached out and picked up the boy's trembling hand and lightly caressed the gold band. "We can see and feel them, but Michonne couldn't. Can you explain that?"

Harry slowly shook his head no. "You're not supposed to see them," he whispered.

"Are you saying that magic is real?" Daryl scoffed.

"Asks the man who swears he saw a real Chupacabra once," Rick chuckled.

Daryl glared at Rick. "Hey, I know what I saw. That was a fucking Chupacabra."

"They're real," Harry shyly admitted, giving Daryl an uncertain smile. "Most creatures that people believe are made up are in fact real. They're just really good at hiding themselves."

"Next you'll say that unicorns and fairies are real too," Daryl said sarcastically.

The smile slipped off of Harry's face. He had hoped that maybe Daryl and Rick would believe and accept him. "M'sorry, I was just teasing."

Rick gave Daryl a dirty look. "Ignore him, he can be a grouch sometimes."

"I just don't need anyone patronizing me. I know what I fucking saw," Daryl snarled.

"I wasn't," Harry defended hotly. "I do believe you...and for your information, unicorns and fairies are real too."

"Harry, are you saying that magic is real?" Rick asked again, trying not to laugh at the boy. He was a little old to still be believing in that kind of stuff.

"Are zombies real?" Harry asked back. "Why is magic and chupacabras so hard to believe in when we have dead bodies walking around eating people?"

"You got me there," Rick chuckled.

"You know what? Screw it, I'll tell you the truth. If you don't want me in your group anymore after learning the truth, then please just put a bullet between my eyes because I no longer want to live in this fucked up world. Yes, I'm a wizard. I went to a magical school in Scotland where we learned how to brew potions, cast spells, fight against dark creatures, transfigure crap, and a load of other magical bullshit. We wore robes, had pointy hats and even carried a wand."

Harry held up his hands. "These are magic dampening cuffs. The headmaster at my school placed them on me when my non magical uncle informed him that we were coming here for a convention. My family despised and feared me because of my magic. They even tried to beat the freakishness out of me. The only person who can remove these fucking cuffs before my eighteenth birthday is the headmaster at my school. He also placed a spell on them so no one could see them except for him and myself. Without my magic, I am helpless."

Daryl opened and closed his mouth a few times trying to form the right words. "Told you I saw a Chupacabra," he said to Rick. "Make fun of me will you?"

Rick wasn't sure what to believe, but the boy was pretty damn convincing. "Can I see your wrist? I want to check the cuff out, there has got to be a clasp."

Harry held his hand out. "Believe me, I tried everything, even a saw. They're not coming off."

Rick ran his fingers over the outside of the cuff and then in the inside. "I don't see or feel a clasp anywhere. How did you even get them on in the first place?"

"Magic," Harry grinned cheekily.

"Give it the fuck here," Daryl grumbled, snatching the boy's hand away from Rick. "Abracadabra, open the fuck up!" He snarled, tugging at the bracelet.

Gasping, Daryl fell back hard on his ass when the bracelet opened and fell into his hand. "What the hell?"

Harry cried out when a rush of power flooded his weak body. "I...I...how did you get it off?" Harry held out his other hand. "Please, please get this one off too," he pleaded, tears falling from his eyes. Just getting half his magic back felt amazing.

Daryl looked at the boy's shaking hand as if it was a poisonous snake ready to strike. "What the hell just happened?"

Harry shook his head. "I don't know, that shouldn't have worked. Please try the other one. I'm begging you."

Daryl awkwardly took the hand, and feeling stupid, he repeated the same words. "Nothing happened," he growled in frustration.

"Nooo," Harry whined. "Try again. It has to work."

Daryl tried again, and when nothing happened, he started pulling and tugging on the bracelet. "Fuck you! Open the fuck up," he roared. He hated seeing that broken look on the boy's face.

"I don't think cursing at it is going to work," Rick said, rolling his eyes.

"Then let's see you get it off?" Daryl snarled.

Rick gently took the boy's hand and inspected the bracelet again. "Alright, uhm, open!" he said with a tug.

Harry lunged to his feet and tackled Rick when the bracelet popped open. "Merlin, you did it," he cried excitedly. He hadn't felt this good, this alive, since Dumbledore placed them on him. He could feel his magic crackling and dancing happily across his skin.

Rick was shocked when the boy lunged at him and wrapped his bony arms around his neck. "Uhm, glad I could help," he said awkwardly.

"I got one off too you know," Daryl sulked.

Giggling, Harry pulled away from Rick and hugged Daryl. "Thank you, thank you, thank you. You don't know how much better I feel without my magic blocked." Red faced, he stepped away from Daryl and sat back on the couch.

Rick turned the bracelet over in his hand inspecting it. "Why did it work for us, but only one each?"

Harry shrugged his shoulders. "I don't really know, it shouldn't have..." Freezing mid sentence, he stared wide eyed at the men in front of him. "Oh no, no, no, no, it can't...it just can't." Harry could feel all the color leave his face.

"Harry, are you all right?" Rick asked when the boy went as white as a sheet.

Harry numbly nodded his head. This couldn't be, it just couldn't. There was only one other way that the bracelets could be seen and removed, and that was by his mate...or mates in this case. That was why Daryl couldn't remove both, Rick was his other mate.

Harry gingerly laid back on the couch. "I think the release of my magic has made me dizzy," he mumbled. He wasn't ready for this, he didn't want mates. He never wanted another male to touch him like that again...ever. Just the thought of being with a man made him want to vomit.

"Can you truly do magic?" Daryl asked in disbelief.

Harry wasn't that good at wandless magic yet, but with his magic bound for so long, he felt like he was going to erupt. With a wave of his hand, he levitated Daryl's bow and had it hover behind him. When the hunter didn't notice it right away, he poked him in the back with it a couple of times.

"D'fuck!" Daryl bellowed...well more like screamed. "How... How, the fuck?" Quickly he reached out and snatched his bow out of the air.

"Told you," Harry said sleepily. Never before had doing something so easy exhausted him like this. It was going to take a while to build his magical strength back up after so long of not using it,

"That was...wow!" Rick said speechlessly. "So you're a wizard"

Harry nodded his head. "There is an entire magical world hidden from nonmagical people, including creatures like the Chupacabra." Harry shyly grinned at Daryl.

"How are they handling all this? Is magic keeping them safer?" Rick asked curiously.

"I haven't heard from anyone," Harry said sadly. "I don't know if my friends are dead or alive. I don't know anything. So, can I stay with you guys, or are you going to shun me too for what I am, for something that I have no control over?" He may not want mates, but he also didn't want to be separated from them.

"Of course we want you to stay with us," Rick reassured. "You being a wizard doesn't change anything."

Daryl agreed with Rick. "Can you protect yourself with your magic?"

"I don't have my wand so I'm limited on what I can do. I can do some wandless magic, but mostly lower level stuff and it exhausts me faster."

"Then you still need to learn how to shoot," Daryl said. "Are you up to moving? After you get cleaned up, we're heading to Terminus."

Harry sat up despite still feeling dizzy. He didn't want to slow them down and give them a reason to abandon him. "Yeah, I'm good."

Rick looked doubtfully at the boy, but led him out the door anyway and towards the farm house. Even though he wasn't showing it on the outside, he was reeling over the fact that witches and wizards were real. He didn't think any different of Harry because of it, but it was still an incredible shock.

Daryl didn't know what to think or feel, today had been a real eye opener for him. He saw his bow floating in the air, what the hell was he supposed to think about that? He liked Harry though, there was just something about him that drew him in. He hoped to learn more about his magic and the different creatures in his world. He also couldn't wait to rub the fact that chupacabras were real in Glenn's face.

***HP

"So, could you like turn me into a frog?" Carl asked, shooting yet another question at Harry. He had been firing questions off left and right since his dad had told him about Harry being a wizard.

Harry was walking besides Carl following the train tracks. Rick was leading with Michonne and Daryl was bringing up the rear. "We haven't learned human transfiguration yet, but if I had my wand I probably could. Though, why would anyone want to be a frog?"

"Yeah," Carl chuckled. "A lion or wolf would be way cooler."

Harry smiled at the younger boy. Carl had been real nice to him since first meeting him, he even offered him one of the candy bars he had found. They had been walking together for five hours, ever since he finished his first bath in what felt like forever. He couldn't believe that Rick and Daryl had went out of their way for him by heating up water and lugging it to a bathtub. He got to scrub himself with not only hot water, but with soap and conditioner too. It had felt amazing washing off the filth and washing off the last remnants of those vile men. He scrubbed himself so hard that his skin had turned red and even bled in some areas. He wished that he could take thirty more baths like that, it was going to take that many just to feel truly clean.

"My godfather could turn into a large dog, and his mate was a werewolf." Harry said, giggling at the look on the young boy's face.

"Werewolves are real?" Carl gasped.

"Yup, and their just like in the movies. They turn into extremely large wolves on the full moon and their bite is infectious. The human has no control over the wolf on the full moon and they are very dangerous."

"Wicked!" Carl grinned. "What's a mate?"

Harry briefly glanced behind him to Daryl. He noticed that the hunter was paying close attention to their conversation. "Mates are your destined significant other." he explained. "All magical creatures such as werewolves, vampires, veelas, and elves have destined mates."

"Wizards too?" Carl asked, grinning cheekily at Harry.

Harry blushed. "Wizards too, though we don't have to be with our mates, unlike most creatures. It's rare for witches and wizards to find their mate, but it's said that there is no greater love than the love between mates."

"Sounds sappy," Daryl grunted.

"Yeah, though it would be nice to be loved and have a family." Harry said wistfully.

Carl looked sadly at Harry. "Your aunt and uncle were that bad?"

"Worse," Harry mumbled. "They never hid the fact that they despised me."

"My mother was a drunk and my dad was an abusive bastard," Daryl muttered. He didn't know why he admitted that, he just didn't want Harry to feel alone when it came to having shit heads for relatives.

Rick held up his hand to get everyone's attention. Without saying anything, he signaled for everyone to get into the woods. Harry fearfully moved closer to Daryl, almost brushing against him.

With a nod, Daryl reached out pulled the boy closer to him. "Stay close to me and stay quiet."

Harry didn't need to be told twice. Unlike the rest of them, he didn't have a weapon. He had his magic, but he didn't feel strong enough to risk using it just yet.

Rick held up four fingers then pointed to Michonne. With a nod to Daryl and Carl, him and Michonne stepped back out on the tracks.

"What's happening?" Harry whispered in Daryl's ear.

Daryl shivered when the boy's breath caressed his ear. "There's four walkers and they are going to take care of them quietly so not to attract anymore."

"Don't worry, Harry, I got your back," Carl reassured.

Harry smiled gratefully at the younger boy. He may be a few years older than Carl, but he could tell that Rick's son was one tough kid. "Maybe you can help teach me how to shoot a gun," he whispered to Carl.

Carl's chest proudly puffed out. "Yeah, I'm a great shot." he bragged.

Daryl shook his head and softly chuckled. If he didn't know any better, he would swear that Carl had a crush on the boy. "It's safe," he said, when he heard Rick's whistle.

Harry tried to hide the fact that he was feeling sick, but the hot Georgia sun beating down on him wasn't helping any. "Hey, Harry, you don't look so good," Carl said, loud enough for the rest to hear.

"I-I'm fine, Carl," Harry panted. "I'm just a little hot."

Rick walked up to Harry, and after holding his hand out for approval, he checked him for a fever. Harry shied away from touch that he didn't instigate so they did everything slow so as not to startle him. "Damn, you're burning up again."

Harry leaned into Rick's cooler hand. "I'm fine, really. It's just so hot here."

"Harry," Rick sighed. "You are not fine, you have a fever." Rick turned to Daryl, surprised to find him hovering close by. "Let's go ahead and find a safe camp for the night. According to the map, we shouldn't be far from Terminus. We'll get Harry settled then two of us can slip out and observe the sanctuary for a few hours to see if it's safe."

"You don't have to stop for me," Harry whimpered. "I'll be fine."

"Nah, we were planning on stopping anyway," Daryl said with a crooked grin. "Don't wanna walk into Terminus blindly."

Harry took a seat leaning against a tree. He felt bad not being able to help, but he was afraid that he was going to pass out. "Don't worry about it kid," Rick reassured. "You have been starved, beat and have an infection, you're not going to get better over night. We have all been in your shoes too where we couldn't move on. Daryl took an arrow to his side and a bullet to his shoulder, Carl and Michonne have both been shot, and I lost my marbles there for a while and passed out for over twenty four hours after getting my ass kicked. Just lay down and rest, we'll look after everything.

"Thanks," Harry smiled gratefully, that really did make him feel better. The last thing he wanted was to become a burden. He still couldn't believe that he was safe and that the Claimers were all dead. He would do whatever he could to prove to Rick and Daryl that he belonged with them.

***HP

Rick kicked dirt, leaves and sticks over the bag full of their weapons. "Just incase we need them. This place feels too good to be true."

"Good plan," Daryl grunted. They hadn't learned much when watching the sanctuary over night.

Rick turned to Harry who was still looking extremely weak and shaky. "Harry, stick close to us. If things go bad, run back to here and we will meet up with you as soon as we can."

Harry paled at the thought of being separated from his mates. It was obvious by looking at them that he was going to be the submissive in the relationship, and that was alright with him. He may have had to fight and kill Voldemort, but he had never had a desire to be in charge or be a fighter. Sadly though he could never see himself in a sexual relationship with his mates, not after what he had suffered at the hands of Len and the Claimers.

"Here," Daryl grunted thrusting a pistol at the boy. "If it gets ugly, just point and pull the trigger."

Harry reluctantly took the gun, he honestly had no clue how to work the damn thing. He was scared and he didn't want to go Terminus. He didn't exactly have a good track record when it came to dealing with people since the apocalypse.

Rick could easily see the fear in the boy's eyes. "It'll be alright, Harry, just stick close."

Harry jerkily nodded his head praying that if something happened he could summon up enough wandless magic to help protect everyone. He just had a very bad feeling about this place and he had learned in the past to trust his feelings.

***HP

Harry stayed slightly behind Daryl as Rick approached the group of people. His magic was crackling under his skin warning him that something wasn't right.

"Usually we do this where the tracks meet," a tall, good looking young man with brown hair said. He looked to be in his mid twenties and the leader. "Welcome to Terminus, I'm Garret."

Rick stared warily at the man before introducing his group, his eyes lingering briefly on Harry. The boy looked absolutely terrified. He listened as Garret explained about Terminus, tensing when he was asked to show their weapons and lay them down in front of them. Looking to his right, he saw that the rest of his group were equally as tense.

Harry didn't like this, he wanted to turn and run. Scooting closer to Daryl, he did as instructed and laid his pistol down next to Daryl's crossbow. This group may look friendly enough, but there was definitely something off.

Daryl slowly thrust his hand in front of Harry and gently nudged him back. He wanted the boy safely behind him incase things got ugly. Garret just seemed way too friendly and welcoming to him.

Rick and the group followed an unnamed man out and into the courtyard only half listening as he explained about how Terminus came to be. He was more concerned with scanning the area looking for signs of danger and escape routes. He was also looking for his people.

"Heard you came in the back...smart."

Rick eyed up the older lady behind the grill. She seemed nice, but everything felt rehearsed and staged. Looking around, he spotted a stranger with the orange backpack that he had picked up off of the side of the road that belonged to a dead hitchhiker. Next, he spotted riot gear that had come from his prison. These were possessions that belonged to his missing group. The final straw was when he spotted the stopwatch that Hershel had given Glenn on the man that was giving them the tour.

Harry whimpered when Rick rapped his arm around the neck of one of the men and put his gun to his temple. He didn't know what was going on, but it had something to do with an old watch. Without hesitating, Daryl pointed his crossbow at the group, Michonne her sword and Carl his gun. Harry held out his own gun, but his hand was shaking horribly.

"Harry," Daryl softly growled. "Remember what we said."

Harry eyes flicked briefly to Daryl's before all hell broke loose. Guns were being fired, bullets were flying everywhere, it was all happening too fast. He did his best to stick close to Daryl and shoot the other people, but they were soon surrounded and outnumbered. He thought for sure that they were going to be killed so he was shocked when they were herded into a train car like a pack of animals.

It was dark in the car, but Daryl grabbed Harry and started checking him over. "Were you hit? Are you hurt?" He didn't understand where this blinding fear for the boy's safety was coming from. He had known Beth a hell of a lot longer and he hadn't cared this much when she got taken. All he could think about during the short battle was Harry's safety.

"M'fine," Harry mumbled, leaning into his mate's hands. He may not like to be touched, but right now he needed his reassurance and comfort.

"Who's there?" Rick growled, staring off into the far end of the dark car. He had heard something shuffling so he knew that they weren't alone.

"Wish I could say that I was happy to see you," Glenn sighed, stepping out from the darkest part of the car.

"Glenn," Rick sighed, pulling his friend into a quick embrace. He was relieved and happy to his friend alive. Glenn had saved his ass on more than one occasion.

"And Maggie, Sasha and Bob," Glenn added.

"What's going on here? What exactly is this place?" Daryl growled, still standing protectively in front of Harry. When he had heard the noise in the back of the car he had automatically assumed that they had been tossed in with a bunch of hungry walkers.

"Well it sure as hell isn't a sanctuary for all." A large, muscular red head growled. "Abraham," he said, holding his hand out for Rick to shake.

"He's safe," Glenn said when Rick just wearily stared at the man. "He saved my ass after I passed out on the road after the attack on the prison." Glenn pulled a flashlight out of his pants pocket and turned it on. "Since we are all stuck in here I guess introductions are in order."

Harry stuck close to Daryl as everyone was introduced. It was obvious that his new group knew some of the others. The ones they didn't know were Abraham, Eugene, Rosita and Tera.

"Who's the kid?" Glenn asked, pointing to the small form hiding behind Daryl.

"He's one of us," Daryl snapped.

Wide eyed, Glenn held his hands up. "Whoa, easy there, Daryl, I wasn't threatening him."

Shaking her head, Michonne snorted. Poor Daryl had it hard for the small boy, and boy what a shocker that was. Never in a million years would she have guessed that Daryl batted for the other team. If she wasn't mistaken, and she knew that she wasn't, Rick also had feelings for the boy. Could things get any crazier?

"That's Harry," Carl spoke up when Daryl refused to answer Glenn's question. "He...he saved me." Carl dropped his eyes to the ground, he was still having a hard time dealing with what that man had tried to do to him.

"Oook," Glenn said awkwardly. Obviously something big had happened while they had been separated.

Daryl ushered Harry away from everyone else. "Do you think you can use your voodoo to get us out of here?" he whispered.

"It's not voodoo," Harry scowled. "It's magic." Looking to the door, he sized it up thoughtfully. "If I had my wand I could have us out of here instantly, but unfortunately I'm not very good at wandless magic. We don't get taught that until seventh year and my magic is also weak because it's trying to heal all my injuries."

"Don't worry about it," Daryl reassured when he saw that Harry was getting upset. "We'll get out of this somehow, we always do. Why don't you sit and rest, you were looking pale and shook up during the fight."

Nodding his head, Harry took a seat and leaned against the side of the car. His back still hurt like a bitch, arm too, but it was bearable. If he survived, his magic should have him healed in a few days.

Rick wanted to go and comfort Harry, to reassure him that everything would be alright, but he didn't want to give him false hope. This was bad and he couldn't see a way out. Seeing that the boy was drifting off to sleep, he took off his brown jacket and gently placed it over him. He was so frail and sick looking that it terrified him. How had he survived this long?

Harry woke in a panic to loud banging and shouting. When he opened his eyes, he lunged to his feet when he saw smoke filling up the train car.

"Everyone back!" A voice shouted.

Someone bumped hard into Harry causing him to whimper in pain. "Harry!" Rick called, grabbing the boy and tucking him behind him. This was it. Whatever was going to happen was going to happen now. They couldn't fight their way out because of the tear gas.

Gareth stepped into the train car, smirking. "Let's see now, who should we take for processing? Normally we go in order of arrival, but you lot have caused a considerable amount of trouble and killed a few good friends of mine." Gareth looked at the group. "Let's see, we'll take the leader, Robin Hood, the Asian, and the black man. What the hell, let's take the sickly one too and put him out of his misery. I don't want to risk him infecting our group with something."

Rick looked at his group then at the ten guns pointing at him. There was nothing he could do except allow himself and his men to be tied and gagged. He wasn't giving up though...never.

Harry cried in pain, falling to his knees when his broken arm was wrenched forcefully behind his back and tied together with his other arm.

"This one ain't got an ounce of meat on him, Gareth," another man complained, pinching at Harry's sides.

"Yeah, a shame," Gareth tsked. "Sadly it's not worth trying to fatten him up. We have plenty of meat for now."

Daryl tried to bully his way to Harry, but he was tied securely and held tightly between two men. He didn't want to believe it, but it sounded like they were going to butcher them for food.

Rick was relieved to see that Carl wasn't chosen to go with them, but he was terrified for Harry. He felt as though this was his fault, the boy hadn't wanted to come to Terminus. He didn't know how he was going to get them out of this mess, but he wasn't going to give up. He had to at least save Harry.

The group was marched across the compound and into a large building that was lined with metal tables with knives, saws and other butchering equipment on them. In the middle of the room was a long, large metal trough. There were also two men in the room waiting for them, one man was wearing a plastic apron, goggles, and holding a metal bat, and the other was dressed similar but was holding a sharp knife.

"Alright, let's make like good little cattle and kneel on the ground in front of the trough," Gareth chuckled.

Alex, Gareth's brother, stepped in front of Harry. "Hey, Gareth, can I keep this one, at least for a while?"

Gareth rolled his eyes. "Honestly, Alex, just look at him."

Alex smiled at the petite boy, licking his lips. "I am looking, Gareth. I want him!"

Sighing, Gareth ran his fingers through his hair in agitation. "Alex, we don't rape. We're not like them." He could still hear the screams of his mother and the other women as they were brutally raped by a group that they had trusted and let in. Back then they were stupid and naïve. Now though, now the knew...you're either the butcher, or the cattle.

Harry dropped his eyes in submission when Alex reached out and cupped his face. He couldn't help it, too many months with the Claimers had taught him that it was easier and less painful to just not fight. A few minutes of being fucked was easier to recover from than a brutal beating.

"I won't rape him, Gareth," Alex purred, caressing the boy's cheek and delicate neck. "You won't fight, will you cutie?" he asked softly.

Harry dropped his chin to his chest, not answering him. He couldn't do this, not again.

"He's sick," Gareth pointed out. "He probably has a disease." He didn't want to deny his brother, especially when they already had so little, but he just couldn't condone rape.

"I don't think so," Alex said, eyes pleading with his brother. "He just needs some food and medical attention. I'll take care him, promise."

"He's not a fucking dog!" someone growled.

Harry's head snapped up, recognizing the voice. Standing in the doorway holding a rifle was his cousin Dudley. If it hadn't been for the voice, he would not have recognized him. Gone were the rolls of fat and spoiled rotten attitude, and in it's place was a tall, lean, muscular young man that looked both confident and weary.

Dudley's eyes widened for a minute before he erased all traces of recognition from his face. He couldn't believe that his little cousin was still alive and in this place of horrors. He hadn't wanted to leave Harry behind, but his father had threatened to kill his cousin if he had tried to wake and warn him. He knew it wasn't just a threat to get him moving, his father would have killed Harry without a second thought. He found it kind of funny that Harry was still alive and his parent had died two days after abandoning him. They had stumbled across a large herd of walkers and his parents couldn't outrun them.

"Hey, Duds," Alex said, never taking his eyes off of the pretty boy. "What brings you here? You normally stay far away from this place."

Dudley's face scrunched up in disgust. He had been here at Terminus since before the men had attacked and taken over...before they had snapped and became cannibals. Not him though, he refused to kill and eat people. He had only stayed because it was safe, and where the hell else was he supposed to go? This place had fencing, guns, and people willing to fight for each other. Safety was in numbers.

Dudley discreetly brought his finger to his lips warning Harry to be quiet. "I was just curious about the group that had caused so much trouble," he said, shrugging his shoulders.

"Enough talking," Gareth snapped. "Let's bleed them out and get them butchered up. Alex, you can keep the boy for now, but if he shows any signs of being diseased, I'll slit his throat myself."

Grinning triumphantly, Alex pulled the boy to his chest letting his hand brush against his small ass. "He'll be fine, promise."

Trembling and feeling nauseous, Harry looked to his mates with tears in his eyes. He would rather be on his knees on the floor awaiting death with them than be in this man's arms.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Gareth snapped.

Harry watched in horror as the man with the bat stepped behind a kneeling blond man and cracked him over the head with it. Immediatly the other man stepped up with his knife and slit his throat, shoving him over the trough where his blood gushed out of him and into it. As if it were nothing, the man with the bat hit the next man in the head then watched as his friend slit his throat.

Harry started struggling in Alex's arms, trying to call his magic forward so he could help his mates. There were only two men before it was Daryl's turn.

Daryl had never been a religious man, but he closed his eyes and tilted his head back and prayed for some kind of miracle. He didn't want to die, but even more, he didn't want Harry to be abused and raped again. It had only been a short time, but he was developing strong feelings for the boy. He had topped other males before, never caring much for gender, but he never actually had feelings for any of his partners. It had always just been about the sex and his pleasure. Harry was different though.

Harry could finally feel his magic responding to his desperation when a loud explosion tore through the air.

"What the hell!" Gareth roared as bullets started ricocheting off the building.

Alex shoved his prize down and under one of the tables. "Don't move. I'll be back for you, baby." Smirking, he kissed him through the gag in his mouth.

Gareth rushed for the door, turning back at the last second. "Finish up here then help us."

Glenn closed his eyes when the man with the bat stepped behind him and raised his weapon. He was just starting to bring it down when a shot rang out, dropping the man. A second shot was fired, killing the man with the knife.

Dudley dropped his rifle and rushed to his cousin. "Damn, Harry, if you aren't a sight for sore eyes." Helping him up, he quickly cut the ties on his hands and removed the gag. "You look like shit!"

Whimpering, Harry stumbled past his cousin and fell to his knees in front of Rick. "Please, Dudley, help me." With his cousin's help, they managed to quickly free the remaining men.

Grabbing Harry, Daryl pulled him into a crushing hug. "Are you alright?"

Burying his face in his mate's neck and inhaling his calming scent, Harry nodded his head. "Are you?" had asked back.

"I almost fucking became dinner," Daryl mumbled into Harry's hair, "it will be a while before I'm fully alright."

"We need to get out of here before Gareth gets back," Dudley warned, his gun pointed at the door. "Grab whatever weapons you can find."

Grimacing, Rick picked up the knife that was used to slit the other mens throats. "We need to get back to the train car and rescue the rest of our group and my son."

Still keeping a firm hand on Harry, Daryl bent down and grabbed the bloodied bat. "Stick to me like glue. Got it?"

Harry had no problems with that. He had seen a lot of horrible things since everything went to hell, but eating other people was a whole other level of horrible. He understood being so hungry that you could eat just about anything, he had even eaten grass when he was younger because his uncle hadn't fed him for days, but eating other people was just fucked up.

The group ran out of the building, sticking close and covering each other's backs. The place was swarming with walkers and members of Terminus. Thankfully the Terminus people where too busy fighting off the walkers to worry about their food running away.

"Harry!" Daryl yelled, thrusting an iron pipe into his hands. "Take their damn heads off."

Gulping, Harry nodded his head. He had yet to kill a walker, the Claimers had always taken care of them before they got too close, and before them he had just ran like hell. He was trying to stick close to Daryl, but there were hundreds of walkers swarming the place and they were literally having to fight for their lives. He didn't have any combat skills, at least not like Daryl and Rick. They were cutting through the walkers as if it was nothing.

Rick was leading his group through dead desperate to get to his son. He was worried about Harry behind him, but he knew that Daryl had him. He didn't understand these feeling he had for the boy, but if they made it out of here alive, he was going to have to do some serious soul searching. The kid was young enough to be his son...and a male. He had never been attracted to someone of the same gender before.

Harry cried out when he was hit hard in the side sending him flying into a car and bashing his head into the side window.

"You're not leaving me, are you love?" Alex purred, advancing on the boy and pulling him up and against him. When he saw him running, he quickly lunged for him, knocking him into the car. "Come on, I have a place where we can hide until my brother gets the dead cleared out." Licking his lips, he started to drag the small boy towards a panic room they had built incase of an emergency.

All Harry could see was red. He was tired of being manhandled and raped and he was no longer going to take it. With a roar, he raised the iron pipe Daryl had given him and brought it down hard on Alex's head. He could feel the man's blood hit him in the face, but he ignored it and continued to hit the creep with the pipe. He didn't stop, even after the man was laying motionless on the ground.

"Easy, Harry," Daryl said gently, coming up behind the boy and wrapping his arm around his waist. He didn't know where Harry was mentally at right now, but he didn't want to spook him and have him turn that damn pipe on him. He had completely caved that fuckers head in with that pipe.

Chest heaving and the fog clearing from his brain, Harry looked down to see Alex's head cracked wide open and blood and brains oozing out from it. Slapping his hand over his mouth, he bent at the waist to gagging.

"No time to throw up," Daryl growled, swinging Harry around and away from the mangled mess. "We have to get the fuck out of here."

Shaking, Harry nodded his head and followed Daryl through the sea of walkers, still clutching the bloodied pipe in his hand. He couldn't believe that he had just killed someone with a pipe.

Rick helped the last of his group safely over the fence then turned to scan the courtyard behind him. Somehow during the mad dash to the train car, he had lost Harry and Daryl. Daryl could handle himself, but Harry was still sick and in a lot of pain. He was so preoccupied with searching for the missing pair that he didn't see the walkers coming up on the side of him.

Harry stopped dead in fear when he saw a walker almost on top of Rick. "Rick!" he screamed as loud as he could. Waving his hand, he sent the walkers flying into the air and across the lot.

Rick just stood there in shock. How he hadn't heard the walkers that were almost on top of him he didn't know, but what he did know, Harry had just saved his life. He had magically picked the walkers up and sent them flying a good thirty feet away.

"That was fucking awesome," Daryl gasped, literally picking the small boy up and tossing him safely over the fence. They had to hurry, the herd of walkers was almost on top of them.

"You can say that again," Rick said, still staring at the walkers who had yet to get back to their feet.

Harry struggled to his feet, violently flinching when Dudley grabbed him by the arm to help him up. He didn't exactly have good memories when it came to his cousin touching him.

"Get your fucking hands off of him!" Daryl snarled, pointing his crossbow at the stranger. Just because he helped them escape didn't mean that he wouldn't put an arrow between his eyes for touching his boy.

Holding his hands up, Dudley backed away from his cousin. "It's alright, I'm Harry's cousin."

Growling, Rick advanced on the young man. "The same cousin that abandoned him while he was sleeping and left him alone with no way to protect himself?"

"The same cousin that bullied him?" Darly hissed, poking him in the chest with his arrow.

"I-I was young and stupid," Dudley stuttered nervously. "It was how I was raised. My parents hated Harry and taught me to beat on him while I was still in diapers. Kids learn by watching their parents and mine were always hitting Harry."

Daryl clenched his teeth painfully in anger. He wanted to kill every fucker that had ever dared to put his hands on his boy. "I should kill you."

"Daryl," Harry called softly, lightly placing his hand on his savior's arm. "Please don't kill my cousin. Yes he made my life absolutely miserable, but he's the only family I have left. The world has changed, maybe him and I can become a real family now."

"You don't need him," Daryl growled, his finger itching to pull the trigger. "You have us now."

Smiling with tears in his eyes, Harry gave Daryl a sideways hug. "You have no idea how much hearing that makes me happy."

Daryl reluctantly lowered his bow and turned towards Harry. "You're hurt," he whispered, fingering the large cut on his forehead.

Harry winced when Daryl prodded where his head had connected with the car. "It happened when that guy tackled me."

"You're very accident prone," Daryl grumbled. "Come on, let's go dig up our shit so I can clean that up."

Rick reached out and grabbed Harry's cousin when he went to follow Harry and Daryl. "You can stay in my group, but if you hurt that boy or even look at him wrong, Daryl will be the least of your worries. So help me, I will break both your legs and stand by laughing as the dead feast on your pathetic body. Do you understand me?"

"Yes, Sir," Dudley gulped. "I really want to get to know my cousin and make up for the past."

"One wrong move and I ring the dinner bell. Don't test me."

Dudley jerkily nodded his head. He was being sincere in what he said, he honestly wanted to make it up to Harry. He also had to tell him about the rope that came for him.


	3. Chapter 3

I do not own Harry Potter or The Walking Dead

PLEASE REVIEW!

***HP

"Carol!" Daryl said breathlessly, rushing to the woman and embracing her tightly.

"This was you?" Rick asked, also pulling the woman into a hug. "You blew up Terminus?"

Harry felt a pang of jealousy when Daryl started hugging some woman with cropped white hair and blood all over her. It was stupid of him to think that his mates were available. It was obvious that Rick had a wife somewhere, he did have a son after all. Wrapping his arms around himself, he fell to the back of the group and waited.

Dudley approached his cousin and gave him a smile. "Everything all right? You look a little sad."

"I'm fine," Harry mumbled, watching as Daryl laughed at something the woman said.

"Is this a good group?" Dudley asked, looking around at everyone gathered. "Are they safe?"

Harry glanced at his mates again, his heart aching because they seemed to have forgotten about him. "I have only been with a couple of them for a few days, but they seem good. The others I don't know."

"Look, Harry, I just wanted you to know that I didn't want to leave you behind. Dad threatened to kill you if I woke you up."

"I wish you would have woken me," Harry said darkly. "I would have preferred death over what I suffered through since you all abandoned me."

Dudley reached out to comfort his cousin, but his hand was grabbed in a bruising grip.

"Don't fucking touch him!" Daryl snarled, pushing the kid back.

"Hey, he's my cousin," Dudley winced, trying to break the man's steel like grip.

"And you're a fucking cannibal," Daryl spat in disgust, squeezing the kid's hand harder.

Dudley quickly shook his head no. "Not once did I eat human meat. I went out and shot bunnies, deer and squirrels. I refused to participate in their human slaughtering."

Daryl sneered at the boy in disgust. "Makes no difference, you were there. How many people died while you sat back and did nothing."

Dudley couldn't honestly answer that question. So many had come to Terminus seeking sanctuary only to end up as food. "They were once good people," he explained. "They took me in and showed me how to use a gun, how to survive. They didn't start eating people until after a group of men came through and raped all the woman and beat the shit out of us men. After that they changed."

"Come on, Harry," Daryl barked, still glaring at the boy. He didn't like the kid, not after the way he had treated Harry when they were younger.

Without looking back at Dudley, Harry followed Daryl. "Daryl, where are we going now?" he asked softly.

"Don't know," Daryl grunted. "Carol said that she had something to show Rick. How are you feeling?"

Harry dropped his eyes and watched the ground pass by as they walked. "I killed that guy, Daryl."

Grabbing Harry's arm, Daryl came to an abrupt stop. "Don't you fucking dare for a second feel bad about that. Those weren't good people and he was planning on raping you. You do anything that you can to survive...anything!"

Harry couldn't stop the tears from falling. "Daryl, I beat his skull open with a pipe."

Sighing, Daryl pulled the boy in for a hug. "It was either him or you, Harry. I know it won't help how you feel, but I'm proud of you for bashing his fucking brains in."

Closing his eyes, Harry savored the feel of his mate holding him. You would think after his time with the Claimers that he would hate this, but this felt amazing. "Daryl, is Carol your wife or girlfriend?"

Looking down at the top of the boy's head, Daryl snorted. "Carol is a friend. She's been with the group since the beginning."

Harry didn't miss how Daryl tensed at his question. It seemed that his mate saw Carol as more than just a friend. Hearing a commotion up ahead, he reluctantly stepped out of Daryl's hold.

"I'll be damned, Little Ass Kicker," Daryl chuckled, running up to join the rest of the group.

Harry watched as everyone swarmed a large black man and a little baby that Rick was holding. Feeling like an outsider, he found a large tree and sat down, carefully leaning his back against it. He still wasn't feeling all that good and his back was still throbbing along with his head. All he wanted to do was wash Alex's blood off of him and then go to sleep.

Seeing Harry off on his own resting against a tree, Michonne slowly approached him. "Harry, it looks like we might be here for a bit. Why don't you let me have a look at your back and clean it up."

Opening his eyes, Harry reluctantly nodded his head. His back did need looking at. He could feel something wet running down it and he was pretty sure that it wasn't sweat. "Not here though, I don't want everyone to see."

Michonne scanned the area looking for walkers. It really wasn't safe to wander away from the group, but she didn't blame him for not wanting everyone to gawk at him. "All right, we can slip into the woods, but not too far."

Groaning softy, Harry forced himself to get up and stiffly follow Michonne into the woods. He didn't want to go too far, he was scared to be separated from his mates. He just didn't want all the new people to see his back and find out about what happened to him with the Claimers.

"Here should be good," Michonne said pointing at a downed tree that the boy could sit on. "We're far enough that no one can see, but close enough that we can still hear them."

"Thank you," Harry said softly, carefully pulling his shirt off. It was stuck in a few places and hurt like a bitch when he pulled at it.

Michonne cringed when she saw the kid's bloody back. As bad as it still looked, it was healing remarkably fast. "A couple of the deeper lashes are still infected so after I clean them I will put some antibacterial cream on them and then I want you to take another antibiotic pill."

Harry bit the inside of his cheek to keep from crying as Michonne started working on his back. "Who was the baby?" he asked, finally plucking up the courage to do so.

"That's Ricks daughter Judith," Michonne answered. "When the prison we were living in was attacked we thought that the walkers got her."

"That's horrible," Harry said softly. "Rick and Carl must have been devastated."

"They were. We also lost a good man back at the prison, Maggie's father Hershel."

"I'm sorry," Harry said truly meaning it. "I'm guessing since my cousin isn't with my aunt and uncle that they didn't make it either. They never liked me, actually that's an understatement, but I still wouldn't wish that kind of death on them."

"Do you have any other relatives back home?"

Harry's heart clenched at the thought of his friends back home. "No more blood relatives and my godfathers were killed a few months before this all happened. I do have close friends though, and I pray everyday that they are all alright. I guess I'll never know what happened to them."

Dudley stepped out from behind a tree where he had been hiding. He had just wanted to make sure that his cousin was safe, and he was also curious as to why he was sneaking away. "As of the night we abandoned you, Harry, your friends were all safe."

Harry spun around, trying to hide his back from Dudley. "How do you know that?"

"Don't be mad at me," Dudley pleaded, "but an owl came that night that we left you and left you a package and a letter."

"What did it say?" Harry cried, lunging to his feet and storming to his cousin. All this time he had assumed that Dumbledore and the rest of the Wizarding World were either dead, or that they just didn't give a fuck about him.

"Dad wouldn't let me read the letter," Dudley quickly answered, he really didn't want to become an air balloon like his aunt Marge. "But he was raving that good normal people like us were running for our lives while your lot were safe behind... What is it called when you erect invisible walls?"

"Wards," Harry mumbled numbly. "The walkers must not be able to get through wards."

Dudley jerkily nodded his head. "Right, that's the word dad used. Anyway, the letter was from that friend of yours, the girl with the funny name."

"Hermione?"

"That's it," Dudley said, relieved that his cousin no longer looked like he was going to blow him up. "Dad said that everyone there was safe and they sent you a rope to take home. I really didn't understand what he meant, but dad said the activation word was 'home'. He tried getting it to work after we left you, but nothing happened."

"He was a stupid fat ass!" Harry hollered. "Of course it wouldn't work for him, he didn't have any magic. Where's the rope?" He couldn't believe this, if his relatives would have just told him then he could have been safely back home in the Wizarding World all this time. He never would have met Len and the Claimers and he never would have been tortured and raped.

A smaller voice in the back his head was telling him that he also never would have met Daryl and Rick, but he was ignoring that voice for right now. He could have been safe with the Weasleys and the rest of his Wizarding family all this time.

Dudley lifted up his shirt and untied a thin black rope that he had looped through the belt loops of his jeans. "I kept it on me all this time. I don't know why, it just seemed like the right thing to do. I honestly never thought that I would ever see you again, but I just couldn't bring myself to toss it away."

Harry took the rope from his cousin, feeling the magic in it the second his hand touched it. "How many times did you try using it?"

"Everyday," Dudley admitted shamefully.

Michonne had been following the entire conversation, but she had no clue what the hell they were talking about, but she was very curious. "Harry, what is it?"

"It's a portkey," Harry said reverently, caressing the six foot long rope.

"That's not helping," Michonne chuckled.

Harry blushed at the woman. "Sorry, it's a form of Wizarding transportation. It can transport you to another location almost instantly. It's a horrible feeling, and I don't much care for them myself, but this one may be our ticket to safety. If what Dudley says is true, then the Wizarding World is safe and the walkers won't be able get us there."

"Are you saying that, that rope can take us to Scotland, or wherever it was your school was at?" Michonne asked in disbelief.

Harry flipped the rope over a few times in his hands. "I'm not sure where this portkey will take us. I'm guessing my school, but it could also take us to my godfather's old house or even my best friend's house."

"I don't know," Michonne said wearily, she didn't know what to make of all this magic and wizarding stuff. "Let's say that what you a saying about that rope is true, how do we know that things aren't worse over there?"

"We don't," Harry whispered. "but what if they're better?"

Dudley looked at his cousin hopefully. "You would take me...us with you?"

Harry didn't know much about how portkeys worked, he had only ever taken one to the Quidditch World Cup before his fourth year and then with Cedric after the third task. He didn't know if there was a limit to how many people it could transport. "I wouldn't leave you, Dudley, or anyone else behind," he answered honestly. There was no way he could leave his mates behind, even if they already had wives and girlfriends. If all they could be to him was friends, then he would just have to live with that. He really didn't think that he could handle a sexual relationship anyway.

Harry's statement felt like a punch in the gut to Dudley. "Harry, I honestly didn't want to leave you behind, hell, I even went back after mom and dad...after they died."

Harry was shocked to hear that, he honestly didn't think that Dudley gave two shits about him. "I'm sorry about your parents, Dudley. They may have hated the ground that I walked on, but they adored you and we're good parents to you."

Blinking back his tears, Dudley nodded his head in appreciation. It had hurt bad when the dead killed his parents.

Both Rick and Daryl came bursting through the trees with their weapons in hand and a look of panic on their faces. "Son of a bitch, Harry," Rick groaned, lowering his pistol. "You can't just wander off like that."

Growling, Daryl turned and stormed away.

Harry watched Daryl leave, desperate to call him back. "What's wrong with him?" he asked his other mate.

"You damn near gave him a heart attack when we saw that you were missing," Rick explained. "Me too," he added awkwardly.

"That was my fault," Michonne said, taking up for Harry who looked devastated. "I wanted to treat his back before we got moving again."

Rick was instantly at Harry's side. "Has it gotten worse? Do you need to rest longer?"

Rolling her eyes at Rick, Michonne tossed Harry his shirt. Both him and Daryl had it bad for the young boy. "A couple of the lacerations are still infected, but it hasn't gotten worse and his fever hasn't returned."

"I can still walk," Harry reassured, though he would never admit to Rick that he couldn't. He was terrified of being left behind.

Rick didn't believe Harry, but he really wanted to keep walking until dark. He had to find a safe place where they all could sleep for the night. A place far away from Terminus and any survivors that may come looking for revenge.. "We'll stop when we find a good place." Turning to Michonne he added, "We need to find Beth. Keep your eyes open for any fresh tire marks."

Harry slipped his shirt back on then followed Rick and Michonne back to where the rest of the group were waiting. Looking for Daryl, his heart plummeted when he spotted him back with Carol. He knew that he was being ridiculous, but he couldn't help how he felt.

***HP

Daryl watched as the boy practically passed out the second they stopped for the night. He felt a bit guilty over ignoring him ever since the missing incident after escaping Terminus, but he had never felt fear like that before and it terrified and confused the hell out of him. When he turned around and didn't see Harry with the group, his fear had damn near paralyzed him.

"Daryl, cut the boy some slack," Rick said as he walked past him to secure the door to the house that they were crashing in for the night. "Michonne was seeing to his wounds and he didn't want everyone to see."

"What's with the kid anyway?" Glenn asked, joining Rick and Daryl as they watched over the group.

"He's one us now," Daryl growled, glaring at Glenn and daring him to say something.

Glenn raised his eyebrows over how possessive Daryl sounded. "I get that, but what's his story?"

"His story is the same as the rest of ours," Rick said as he glanced to where the boy was sleeping off in the far corner of the room all alone. "He's just trying to survive."

Glenn followed Rick's gaze back to the boy. "He doesn't look very good. Has he been sick or something?"

"Or something," Daryl grumbled, stalking past Glenn and heading towards the boy.

Rick watched as Daryl pulled a blanket out of his bag and covered the little wizard with it then laid down close to him. He had very strong feelings for the boy, but for some reason he felt no jealousy towards Daryl and it was obvious that his best friend had feelings for Harry too.

"Harry has had it harder than any of us," Rick answered, looking back to Glenn. "He spent months with a very bad group of guys that saw him as only a possession, something that they claimed. He'll forever have the scars from his time with them, but he's alive and still fighting."

Glenn closed his eyes, picking up on what Rick wasn't saying. It sounded like that boy had been raped and abused by those monsters. "How did you find him?"

"He saved my life," Rick answered simply. "He also was willing to sacrifice himself to save Carl from being raped."

Glenn didn't miss how Daryl was laying in a way which had him blocking the boy from everyone else. It almost looked like he was protecting him. "Daryl seems a bit overly protective of him."

Rick didn't know what to say so he just nodded his head. It was true, the two of them felt extremely protective of Harry. With everything going on he hadn't had the chance to analyze his feelings for the boy, but he had never felt this way for Lori. The need to protect and care for the wizard was almost overwhelming.

***HP

Daryl's eyes snapped open when he heard a feint whimpering. He had always been a light sleeper, but it was a matter of life or death now. You had to be able to hear the slightest sound in your sleep and be prepared to react instantly. Snapping his eyes open, he was relived to see that it was only Harry caught in a nightmare and not a walker getting into the house.

Looking around the room, his eyes landed on the large read head Abraham who was taking his turn guarding the group. The man was loud and extremely crass, but so far he liked him. Turning back to Harry, he reached out and started rubbing his arm trying to sooth his nightmare away.

He didn't know how to do the touchy, feely, comfort you type of thing. He himself had never experienced it so how would he know how to do it for someone else? Harry's cries were tearing at him though so he had to do something. If Rick didn't look dead to the world he would wake him and let him comfort the boy. Rick was a damn fine father, unlike his own, so he knew how to deal with these type of situations.

Hearing Harry's cries get louder, Daryl reached out and pulled him closer to him and started rambling nonsense to him while rubbing his back. He was shocked when the boy turned and snuggled into him, burying his face into his neck.

Hearing someone chuckling, he turned to see Abraham smirking at him. The large red head even had the audacity to make a sexual innuendo using his mouth and hand. Glaring back at him, he flipped him the middle finger with his free hand.

***HP

"We need food," Rick whispered to Daryl. "There's a lot of us to feed and not a damn thing to feed them."

Daryl nodded his head in acknowledgment. "Little Ass Kicker needs some formula too. I'll go hunt up some food and I'll take the cannibal with me and maybe Glenn, Maggie and Michonne can look for formula and other supplies." He didn't like leaving Harry alone with his cousin, he didn't trust the little bastard as far as he could throw him.

"Sounds like a plan," Rick said, agreeing with Daryl. "Just try not to kill Harry's cousin. For some reason the boy forgives him."

Harry watched as his mates whispered to each other and then Daryl grabbed Dudley by the arm and drug him out the door. He didn't know where they were going, but he was a bit jealous that Dudley was getting to spend time with his mate. Even though he woke curled up against Daryl that morning, his mate had yet to talk to him.

"Harry, since we are going to be here for at least another day, how about I take you out into the woods and teach you how to shoot a gun?" Rick offered.

Rick felt like he had the wind knocked out of him when the small teen smiled up at him. What the hell was it about this kid that was affecting him like this? He would almost do anything to keep that beautiful smile on his face.

"I-I would love to," Harry said, awkwardly jumping to his feet. His back was still aching him, but he wasn't going to let that stop him from spending time with his mate.

Rick didn't miss the wince that Harry gave as he stood up. "Does your back need treating before we go? If you're not up to it we can wait a few more days. I just don't like the idea of you walking around unprotected."

"No!" Harry quickly cried. "Michonne had Maggie look at my back this morning since she knows a little bit about healing. I'm fine and would love to learn." In all honesty he was terrified to use a gun, he spent months with the Claimers with them waving a gun in his face to scare him, but he would deal with it for the chance to be with Rick.

"Alright," Rick chuckled. "I'll just tell Carl to keep an eye on his sister."

Harry walked with Rick into the woods, soaking in the one on one time with one of his mates. Rick and Daryl were a lot a like, both tough, loyal and hardworking, but Rick was a bit more sociable than Daryl and much easier to talk to.

"We'll go just a bit farther," Rick said, peeking at the teen out of the corner of his eye. "I don't want to risk the noise from our guns attracting the walkers to the house."

"Thank you for doing this," Harry said, shyly looking up at his mate. He couldn't help wonder what Rick looked like under his beard, not that he didn't like it. Rick looked rugged and handsome with his beard. He also liked the fact that despite his clothes being dirty, Rick didn't smell...unlike Len and the rest of the Claimers.

"I just want you to be safe, Harry," Rick said seriously. "As I'm sure you understand, it's not just the dead we have to worry about."

"It's the living you have to fear," Harry mumbled. "They're the true monsters. The dead are just attacking on instinct, same can't be said for the humans."

Without really thinking about what he was doing, Rick reached out and took Harry's hand. "Harry, as long as you're with us, we will protect you. We may be a hot mess most of the times, but we're all family and we look out for our own."

Harry felt tears building behind his eyes. This was all he had ever wanted...a family. "Rick, before my family abandoned me, they got a letter from one of my friends from my school. I didn't know anything about it, but Dudley said that the Wizarding Word was safe from the dead. With magic, we can put up wards that will keep them out. He also sent me a portkey...a magical transportation devise."

Rick stopped, soaking in everything that the boy just said. "Alright, let me just get this straight. Your relatives got a letter the night they abandoned you. How the hell was that possible?"

"Witches and wizards use owls to deliver their mail," Harry explained. "I was asleep when the owl showed up so I never knew about it."

"Owls," Rick mumbled in disbelief. "I'm going to have to take your word on that one. Hopefully the owls Daryl has been eating have been normal, nonmagical owls."

"I hope so too," Harry said, swallowing the lump in his throat. He couldn't help but wonder what happened to his precious Hedwig. Hopefully Hermione, Ron or Hagrid was taking care of her. He dearly missed his first ever friend.

"Alright, so owls deliver wizards mail, now tell me more about this magical means of transportation," Rick said skeptically.

Like Dudley had done, Harry took to wrapping the portkey around his waist. Without hesitating, he handed it over to his mate. "It's a portkey. With the right activation word, it could transport us almost instantly to whatever location it was programmed to."

Rick reached out to take the ordinary looking rope from Harry, but snatched his hand back when he felt an electrical shock. "What the hell was that?"

Harry had felt the shock too. "I think you're sensitive to magic, that's what you felt when you touched the portkey."

Rick looked at the boy in disbelief. "Are you honestly trying to tell me that this rope will take us somewhere safe? Poof and we're gone."

Harry started to nervously chew on his lip. "That's what a portkey does," he answered, not liking how his mate was looking at him as if he had two heads. "Look, I know it's hard to believe, but magic can do a lot of incredible stuff. Hopefully over time I can get you to see that, but please don't make fun of me."

"Harry, I apologize," Rick said sincerely, feeling bad that he had hurt the teen's feelings. "But you have to admit, owls delivering the mail and ropes that can transport you places instantly sounds pretty far fetched."

"I felt the same way when I first entered the Wizarding World," Harry admitted. "Hell, I still feel that was sometimes. I wasn't raised in the Wizarding World. I didn't know about it until I was eleven."

Rick looked to the rope that was still in Harry's hands. He was too leery to try touching it again. "Do you think that rope can honestly take us to safety? All of us?" As much as he wanted to get to somewhere safe, he wouldn't do it if it meant leaving someone behind.

"I don't know," Harry sighed. "To be honest, I don't know much about portkeys so I don't know if it can safely transport all of us. I do feel pretty confident that we will be safe in the Wizarding World though. If wards will keep the walkers away, then we could live peacefully."

"That's a big IF," Rick said. "I don't know, Harry, but if you want to take it..."

"No!" Harry snapped, cutting his mate off. "I'm not going to leave you guys."

Seeing that the boy was getting upset, Rick pulled him into a hug. "We'll discuss this later with Daryl. How about right now I teach you how to shoot?"

***HP"

"Oh thank god you're back!" Tara cried, thrusting Judith into Rick's face. "She has been crying for an hour and we have tried everything." Babies weren't her thing. Sure she helped raise her niece, but she was the aunt who played games and goofed around, not changed diapers and rocked her all night long while she cried for some unknown reason.

Rick wanted to cry for his baby daughter. "She's hungry," he said, feeling like a failure. "Any word from Daryl or Glenn?"

"Not a damn a damn thing," Abraham barked. "Now I don't have anything against little humans, but all that noise she's making is going to attract the dead."

Rick opened his mouth to snap at the red head but he was distracted when Harry touched him on the arm.

"Can I try?" Harry asked sheepishly, holding his hands out for the baby. He didn't know a damn thing about babies and he had never held one before, but it was hurting something inside of him hearing her cries, especially knowing it was because the poor thing was hungry. He knew what it was like to go hungry, even as a baby, and he wouldn't wish that on his worst enemy.

Rick carefully handed Harry his screaming daughter. "I'll warm her up a water bottle, it's better than nothing."

Harry awkwardly carried the little girl to the far corner of the room. Looking around, he gathered up a few pieces of junk that was laying around and took a seat on the floor. "I'm so sorry that I don't have any food for you, little one," he said softly, "but when I was little and hungry I would try to distract myself from the hunger pains." Focusing on his magic and on the objects on the ground in front of him, he willed them raise up in the air and start dancing and spinning in front of the baby.

"What in the hairy balls?" Abraham cried, jumping to his feet.

"Stand down," Rick snarled, glaring at the soldier. Focusing back on Harry and his daughter, he was relieved to see that Judith had stopped crying and was now staring intently at the objects.

Harry could feel sweat running down his face, using wandless magic like this was taking a lot out of him. He was still recovering from everything and his magical core was low from having to heal himself. Still, he would fight through it for Judith. Now that she was focusing on the objects, she was no longer thinking about her hunger.

Rick sat on the floor next to Harry staring at the floating and rotating objects. "That is...wow!"

Harry cracked a half a smile. "I told you magic could do incredible stuff," he panted.

Rick didn't like how pale and weak Harry was looking. "I was lucky and found a scoop of formula in Maggie's bag. It's not enough for a proper bottle but at least it's something." Taking Judith from Harry, he settled her into his arms, chuckling when she attacked the nipple without taking her eyes off the still floating objects.

"Are you alright?" Rick asked, looking to Harry.

Harry was relieved to see that Judith's eyes were drooping, he didn't know how much longer he could keep it up. "My magic is a bit weak right now, that's all." Groaning, he gave in and let the objects fall to the ground. "Sorry," he mumbled.

"Is someone going to tell me what in all hell is going on?" Abraham snapped. "How the hell did that...? What in the hell...?"

Daryl had returned right when the objects that Harry had been levitating fell. "He's a fucking wizard. Get the hell over it," he growled.

"What did you just say?" Eugene asked incredulously. "I believe that I have misheard you."

"Whatever," Daryl grumbled, storming past the geek with the ridiculous mullet. "We got a couple bunnies and a young doe," he said addressing Rick. "The cannibal is outside cleaning them."

The smile that lit Harry's face when he first saw Daryl slowly fell when his mate continued to ignore him. Jumping to his feet, he fled the house.

"Fuck!" Daryl snarled, watching as the boy disappeared out the door.

"Daryl, go after him," Rick quickly ordered. "He's not feeling well and the magic he used to entertain Judith took a lot out of him."

Slinging his bow over his shoulder, since he didn't go anywhere without it, Daryl rushed after Harry.

Harry ran out into the yard and collapsed against a tree crying. He wasn't stupid, he knew it was too dangerous to go far, but it was killing him that Daryl was ignoring him. He had spent an awesome three hours alone with Rick, but it wasn't enough to fill the ache in his heart from his other mate ignoring him. Feeling a presence behind him, he turned to find Daryl staring at him with a mix of emotions in his eyes.

"I'm sorry that I upset you," Harry cried, taking a step towards Daryl who looked more like a statue with the way he was just standing there staring at him. "You were the first person since this all started to show me any compassion, to treat me like I was a real human being. Please don't ask me to leave the group."

"Fuck it!" Daryl snarled. Grabbing Harry's wrist, he tugged him against his chest and crashed his lips onto the boy's much smaller and softer lips.

Shocked, Harry tensed at first, but after a few seconds he melted into Daryl's arms and started to shyly kiss him back. He had only ever kissed Cho that one time and that turned out to be a horrible, almost traumatic experience for him. Len, nor any of the other Claimers had kissed him, so this was something new and it felt right...it felt good.

Daryl broke the kiss then rested his forehead against Harry's. "I have been wanting to do that for days," he said huskily. "Don't ever wander off again without letting Rick or myself know. I don't handle fear very well, and when I couldn't find you...I was scared out of my mind."

Harry stepped closer and rested his cheek on Daryl's muscular chest. "I promise I won't if you promise to never ignore me like that again. That hurt!"

Daryl cupped Harry's cheeks and lifted his face so he could look into his beautiful emerald eyes. "I'll make that promise if we can seal the deal with a kiss."

Harry knew that his cheeks had to be three different shades of red. "A-Alright," he stuttered.

"Only if you're willing," Daryl said seriously. "You can tell me to fuck off and I will. I won't force you into anything and you won't be kicked from the group."

"I want you to kiss me," Harry blushed. "Honestly," he added when Daryl continued to stare into his eyes. "I liked it a lot. I'm just not ready to go farther than kissing. Is that alright?"

"Hell yeah it's alright," Daryl said caressing Harry's bottom lip with his thumb. "Never be afraid to tell me no."

Harry gasped when he felt Daryl's tongue licking at his lips. Following his lead, he opened his mouth and let

his mate in. He could feel himself trembling, but it wasn't from fear.

"We better go back in," Daryl said reluctantly stepping away. "I think we have to explain your magic to the rest of the group.

Groaning, Harry nodded his head and followed his mate back to the house.


	4. Chapter 4

I do not own Harry Potter or The Walking Dead.

Major writers block for this fic...ugh. At least I was able to get something written. Three more fics to go and everything will have been updated...woop!

REVIEW...PLEASE!

***HP

Harry didn't like how a few of the group were looking at him...mainly the giant red head. He had seemed nice enough before, but ever since learning the truth about him being a wizard, he had been looking at him strangely, openly staring at him.

"I still can't believe that magic is real," Tara said excitedly. "My niece would have loved to have met you," she said sadly. She tried not to think about her family, it hurt too much. Meghan had been at the age where she was obsessed with unicorns, magic and princesses.

Harry just gave the woman a small smile. She seemed nice and she hadn't freaked out when Daryl and Rick told the group the truth about him. Eugene was another that was having trouble with him being wizard, but that was only because he was a man of science and magic went against everything he ever believed in. He was still being nice to him though, unlike Abraham who he caught glaring at him a few times.

Looking to the corner of the room, Harry blushed when he saw his mates sitting with Glenn discussing something. It had been four hours since Daryl had kissed him, but he could still feel his face heat up when thinking about it. Everything about Daryl was rough, even his voice, but his lips had been surprisingly soft and gentle. He couldn't help but wonder what it would feel like to kiss Rick.

Feeling a tugging on his pants, Harry looked down to see baby Judith with a handful of his jeans trying to pull herself up. "Look who's awake," he said softly, bending down to scoop her up. "Did you have a good nap?" He chuckled when the little one stuffed her fist into her mouth and laid her head on his shoulder.

"You're good with her," Maggie said, handing the boy a bottle. "Do you have a lot of experience with kids?"

Harry awkwardly shifted the baby in his arms and held the bottle out to her. "None actually, she is the first baby I have ever been around. What...what happened to her mother?" He didn't want to be nosey, but he was curious on how she came to be and what happened to her mother.

"Died in child birth," Maggie answered sadly. "I had to cut her open to remove Judith. Carl shot her after to keep her from turning. It damn near destroyed Rick. He went off the deep end there for a while."

Harry looked back to his mate who was now watching him with an unreadable expression on his face. Blushing, he turned and looked back at Maggie. "Daryl said that its your sister that we are looking for?"

Smirking, Maggie nudged the boy with her elbow. "You and Daryl seem pretty close. I have never seen him so protective of anyone before. For a while there I thought that Carol and him were going to hook up, but now I'm thinking that he likes you."

"I...I..." Harry stuttered, not sure how to answer her. She had taken the news about him being magical really well, but he didn't want to press his luck by going into soul mates. It sounded far fetched even to him. "Your sister?" he asked again.

Sighing, Maggie nodded her head. "She was with Daryl when she was taken by someone with a car. They got attacked by walkers and got separated."

"I'm sorry," Harry said sincerely. He prayed that Maggie's sister was safe and not with someone like Len or any of the other Claimers. It was sad that the humans were more of a threat than the dead.

Clearing his throat, Rick stood up. "We will camp here for one more night than head back towards Atlanta. Daryl said that there was a cross on the car that took Beth that reminded him of a hospital cross."

"We got to go to Washington," Abraham boomed loudly. "It is imperative that we get Eugene there. I'm sorry about the missing girl, but Eugene is our number one priority. The girl's more than likely dead anyway."

Harry reached out and took Maggie's hand when he heard her gasp. "Shut your face!" Daryl snarled. "You and the mullet can go to Washington, we're looking for Beth. We take care of our own."

Harry blushed when Daryl looked to him. He may not be ready for anything sexual, but right now he wanted to snog the hell out of him. His mate was sexy as hell.

"Daryl's right," Rick agreed. "Your group can go on to Washington, but we're not moving on until we find Beth."

Snarling, Abraham stormed out of the house.

***HP

Harry could feel himself lagging, but gritting his teeth, he pushed himself on. They had been walking since sunup and it was late afternoon now. His back was healing nicely, but it still hurt like a bitch and he was still weak from months of starvation. It didn't help that he had been plagued with nightmares last night and had hardly gotten any sleep.

"What about time travel?"

Sighing, Harry looked to Eugene. The man had been asking him questions for hours. "We can travel back in time, but only for an hour or so. We use a device called a Time Turner, but it's heavily regulated by the Ministry. You can't just go out and buy one."

"That is a shame. We could have went back and warned our past selves. Prepared something for our survival."

Harry was too exhausted to explain all the time travel rules, especially the one about not being seen by your past self. He just wanted to find a comfortable spot to lay down and sleep for twelve hours."

"You ok, cuz?" Dudley asked, noticing how pale and sickly Harry was looking.

Harry didn't know what to make of his cousin. He would have given anything when he was little for Dudley to call him cuz or cousin or even to just treat him nice. It was hard to just put aside sixteen years of name calling and abuse and pretend as if it never happened. "I'll be fine, Dudley," he answered stiffly.

"Harry, I'm just worried..."

Stopping, Harry turned and glared at his cousin. "Don't say that you are worried about me! Where was that worry when your father was beating the shit out me or when your mother was starving me? Where was that worry when you were beating me? I know that times have changed, but I just can't forget about sixteen years of abuse. You don't have to suck up to me, Big D, I'll take you with me when we use the portkey. Unlike you, I wouldn't leave a person behind." Wiping at his eyes, he quickly walked away.

"Leave him alone, prick!" Daryl snarled, stepping in front of the cannibal and blocking his path. "You have hurt him enough."

"Me?" Dudley spat. "I saw you kissing him. My cousin isn't your plaything. You're disgusting to use him like that after what he has been through."

Snarling, Daryl grabbed the boy by the front of his shirt and slammed him hard against a tree. "I could kill you right now and not even break a sweat. I could kill you right now and not a single person in this group would give a shit or miss you...except maybe Harry. That boy has a soft heart. You don't deserve to call him cousin. You're nothing but a leech."

"Stay away from my cousin," Dudley huffed, trying to break out of the man's grip. He knew that he was no match for the archer, but he also wasn't one to back down. He may have been a bastard to his cousin when they were little, but Harry was all that he had left and he wasn't going to allow anyone to use or hurt him. He had picked up enough tidbits of information to know what happened to Harry after they left him and he didn't want to see his little cousin hurt even more.

Leaning in, Daryl got right in the cannibal's face. "And what are you going to do if I don't?"

Dudley opened and closed his mouth a few times. "Just leave him alone." he weakly threatened.

Smirking, Daryl shoved the boy harshly away from him. "Come and see me when you grow a pair." he growled, chuckling when the boy landed hard on his backside in the dirt.

Rick watched the confrontation but didn't interfere. The brat needed to be put in his place, but for Harry's sake he didn't want Daryl to kill the boy. "We need to talk about Harry," he said softly to his friend.

Daryl didn't say anything, he just continued to walk besides Rick, eyes constantly scanning the area. He knew that they both had feelings for the boy, but strangely it didn't bother him. It felt right having Rick part of whatever was going on with Harry. "We need to stop," he grunted, pointing to where Harry had stumbled for the fifth time. "He needs a break."

"As soon as we find a safe place," Rick agreed. He hated pushing the kid, especially with him still in so much pain and weak, but they couldn't stop out in the open.

***HP

Harry tried to hide his pain as he was finally able to lower his exhausted body to the ground, but with the way Daryl was looking at him, he knew that he had failed miserably. He wasn't going to complain though, they had to see that he was tough enough to be in this group. He didn't want to be on his own again. Even though he now had a portkey back to the Wizarding World, he couldn't leave his mates behind.

"Let me look at your back, Harry," Maggie said kindly, kneeling next to the exhausted boy.

Grimacing, Harry reluctantly cracked his eyes open. "I'm fine, Maggie. I just need to rest some." The last thing he wanted to do was move so he could take off his shirt. He didn't even think that he was physically capable of moving.

"Let me give you a hand," Rick offered, helping Harry to sit forward then removing his shirt for him.

"There are still a couple lashes that aren't healing as fast as the others," Maggie frowned. Looking to Rick, she held out the pill bottle. "There's only two antibiotic pills left. We're going to have to find some more."

"I'll be fine," Harry reassured tiredly. "Eventually my magic will heal it, it always does."

"I'll go," Daryl offered.

"I'll go with you you," Carol offered too. She wasn't sure what to make of the new kid, but she was a little jealous over how much time Daryl spent with him. Daryl usually didn't pay anyone much attention, but he was always watching the boy and guarding him...he even slept close to him. It wasn't like Darly to act that way. She had always had a crush on the man, she never hid the fact, but he never acted interested so she never pursued him. Maybe he was gay. Maybe that was why he never acted interested in her.

"Please don't go," Harry whimpered, struggling to sit up. "I'm fine, honest." He wouldn't admit it, but he was jealous. He was sure that there had been something between his mate a Carol.

Rick placed a firm hand on Harry's shoulder and gently pushed him back down. "Just sleep, Harry. Daryl knows what he's doing. You need antibiotics."

Daryl wished that he could kiss his boy's pouty lips, but he wasn't one for public displays of affection and he wasn't ready for everyone to know his business. Harry had been through hell and back, he didn't need any of the group ragging on him because there was something going on between the two of them. It wasn't any of their damn business anyway.

"Be careful," Harry whispered, giving in and laying back down. He was so tired and sore, he just wanted to sleep for a year.

***HP

"They should have been back by now," Glenn said worriedly, taking another peek out the window of the abandoned house they were holed up in for the night. Carol and Daryl had left over six hours ago to look for antibiotics and they had yet to return.

Rick looked to Harry who was still blessedly sleeping. He knew the boy would be going out of his mind with worry right now and blaming himself for Daryl and Carol's disappearance. "They both can take care of themselves. They'll return when they can. Until then, we stay here as long as it's safe."

"No! We ain't just gonna be sitting around doing nothing when we need to get Eugene to Washington," Abraham declared hotly. "If we don't get him to Washington, then a cure will never be developed."

"I don't see anyone stopping you," Rick hissed dangerously. "We're not leaving here until all our people have returned."

"Fine!" Abraham snarled. "Give me Glenn, Maggie, Tara and the boy and the rest of you can catch up when your strays return."

Rick narrowed his eyes at the large redhead. He wasn't going to break up his group, and he sure as hell wasn't going to allow him to take Harry. He would slit the man's throat first. "No," he answered flatly.

"Now see here..."

"No, now you see here," Rick hissed lowly, not wanting to wake Harry or any of the others who were asleep . "These are my people...my family. We have been together since the beginning and we're going to stick together."

"The boy has only been with you for a week tops," Abraham pointed out. "Let me take him off your hands. He's only slowing you down."

"If he's such a burden, then why the hell do you want him?" Rick snapped back.

Abraham looked at the boy then back at Rick. "You have seen the shit that he can do. If anyone can get us to Washington, it's that boy."

"I'll go with you with Harry," Dudley volunteered. He wanted to get Harry far away from that damn hillbilly. He wasn't good for his cousin.

"Harry. Isn't. Going. Anywhere." Rick snarled, his hand fingering his gun. "You can go," he said, turning his hard eyes on the cannibal. "Harry stays."

"Harry is my cousin, my..."

"Shut up, Dudley," Harry moaned, carefully sitting up. His body was stiff and still paining him. He had caught the end of the conversation and he figured out pretty easily what was going on. "I'm not leaving the group," he said, looking to the large ginger. "I'm not leaving Rick and Daryl," he added softly.

"We are talking about the survival of man kind!" Abraham roared. "Are you going to let the human race be wiped out just because you're a pansy ass, little bitch who's afraid of his own shadow?"

Harry put his hands behind his back to hide his trembling. Thanks to Len and the Claimers, he was terrified of confrontation. Still, despite what he has suffered through, he was still a reckless, and sometimes stupid Gryffindor. "Yes!" he answered simply, sounding far braver than what he felt. "You have managed this far without me, I'm sure that you can manage the rest of the way just fine. Honestly, how do you even know if Eugene speaks the truth? Your head is too thick to comprehend even a quarter of what the man says."

Mustache twitching and eyes flaring, Abraham was on boy in the blink of an eye. "What did you say?" He hissed, raising his large, meaty fist.

Crying out, Harry covered his head with his arms and fell to the ground whimpering. Flashes of his time with the Claimers overriding everything else. He was reliving each hit, punch, kick and lashing.

Blind with rage at seeing the boy he had come to care a great deal for cowering on the ground in fear, Rick literally picked up the larger man and sent him flying across the room. Grabbing his gun, he aimed it at Abraham. "Tell me why I shouldn't put a bullet between your eyes. Do you get off on hurting those that aren't even half your size?"

"I wouldn't have hit him," Abraham protested, looking sadly to where the boy was crying, now being held and comforted by Michonne. He didn't know what came over him, he knew that the kid had it bad. He just needed to succeed in this mission, it was the only thing keeping him going. He had been ready to end it all before Eugene came across him begging for help and claiming to know the cure. He needed to believe in this.

"I want you gone!" Rick growled, gun still pointed at Abraham.

"The kid's right," Eugene admitted, looking fearfully to Abraham.

"Eugene, what are you saying?" Rosita asked, eyes wide in disbelief.

"I do not now, nor have I ever known, the cure," Eugene said shamefully. The guilt of his lie had been eating at him for a while. He liked this group, he didn't want Abraham to get them tossed out.

With tears in her eyes, Rosita shook her head no. "That's not true. You said..."

"I lied," Eugene cut her off.

"Why?" Rosita asked brokenly. "We lost so many good people getting you this far."

Eugene looked around the room noticing that all eyes were on him, even the little wizards. "Look at me," he defended. "I am not a fighter, I have zero survival skills. I was scared and didn't want to die. I may not be a fighter, but I am far smarter than the average person. I knew that the only safe place would be in Washington and so I lied to get myself there. I do not regret it. I did what I had to do in order to survive."

"No," Abraham mumbled, looking to Eugene but not really seeing him. "No, I don't believe you."

Eugene wearily approached the man who had managed to keep him alive all this time. "It's true. I am sorry that I lied, but..."

Eyes finally focusing, Abraham cocked his fist back and punched the man in the face, easily knocking him out cold. Everyone was too stunned to do anything. All they could do was silently watch as Abraham stormed out of the house.

Lowering his gun, Rick turned to check on Harry. "Are you alright?" he asked, waving Michonne away.

Feeling stupid, Harry nodded his head. "I'm sorry about that. I don't know what came over..."

Rick placed a finger over the boy's lips stopping him from apologizing. "You have nothing to apologize for, Harry, you did nothing wrong. For someone who has been through hell and back, you are handling everything remarkably well. I know first hand what it's like to break under the weight of everything...and you haven't broken. You're are incredibly strong."

Nodding his head and fighting back his tears, Harry leaned into Rick's hand when he cupped his face. "I wanted to break," he admitted shamefully. "When I was with the Claimers, but Daryl wouldn't let me. I just want to die. I wanted it to end."

"And now?" Rick asked softly.

"And now I have you, Daryl and the group." Frowning, Harry looked around, noticing for the first time that Daryl and Carol were missing. "Where's Daryl?"

"Everything is fine, Harry," Rick quickly reassured when he saw the fear and worry in Harry's eyes.

"Have they returned? How long have I been sleeping?"

Rick reached out to comfort Harry but snatched his hand back when he felt an electrical shock. "Harry, you need to calm down," he said soothingly, rubbing at his stingy hand. "What's going on?"

Rubbing his chest, Harry looked wide eyed at Rick. "It's my magic reacting to my emotions. I need to get out of here, I don't want to hurt anyone, especially Judith."

"Go," Glenn said to Rick, having overheard everything. "I'll watch over everything here."

Taking a risk, Rick took Harry's hand, sighing in relief when he only felt a mild, warm shock. "Let's go."

Harry followed Rick, body trembling from holding his magic in. This had never happened to him before. Yes he had inflated Aunt Marge like a hot air balloon last time his emotions got away from him, but this time it felt like he was burning up on the inside.

"Deep, calming breaths," Rick coached, leading Harry away from the house and into the woods. "What is going on?"

"Is Daryl dead?" Harry blurted out, tears finally falling. He couldn't lose Daryl, he couldn't lose one of his mates. He couldn't survive this without him and he didn't want to."

"No!" Rick said forcefully, grabbing Harry's fragile shoulders. He inwardly cringed when he felt all the bones protruding. How the hell had the boy survived so long with those sick bastards.

"Then where is he?" Harry cried, looking around as if he was expecting to see his mate step out from behind a tree.

"He...he hasn't returned yet," Rick answered awkwardly. He wouldn't admit it, but he was worried about his friend too.

"Then how do you know that he's not dead?" Harry sobbed.

"Because he's Daryl," Rick pointed out with a smirk. "Daryl Dixon is the toughest son of a bitch that I have ever met. If he hasn't returned yet then he has a damn good reason...and it's not because he's dead."

Nodding his head, Harry tried to take comfort in Rick's words. He was scared though. He just wanted to go home where him and his mates would be safe behind wards. Hopefully they will find Maggie's sister soon.

"How's your magic?" Rick asked wearily. He wanted to hold the boy, but he was still leery of his magic.

Still trembling, Harry looked down at his hands. The burning throughout his body was getting better, but he still had to release the excess magic. Pointing to a large boulder, he mumbled, "Wingardium Leviosa."

"Incredible," Rick gasped as the boulder lifted off the ground. He didn't think he would ever get use to seeing magic.

Harry kept the boulder hovering in the air until the burning stopped and he could feel himself breaking out into a sweat. Slowly lowering his hand, he returned the boulder to its original spot. "That felt good," he painted, grinning up at Rick.

Unable to resist, Rick gently grabbed the back of Harry's head and brought his lips down onto his. He had been expecting the boy to recoil back in disgust, not lean into him, kissing him back.

Kissing Rick was very different than kissing Daryl. Daryl's kisses felt more wild and more possessive, while Rick's was gentle, more careful. Both were equally amazing, though Rick's was definitely more prickly thanks to his shaggy beard.

"Did I go too far?" Rick panted, lips still brushing Harry's.

"No," Harry sighed. "I'm not ready for more, don't know if I ever will be, but kissing is nice."

"I'll never ask for more than what you're willing to give," Rick reassured, not wanting to scare him. Harry had been brutally raped for months, his fear of having sex was totally justifiable. "Why do I feel so strongly about you? I know that there is something going on between you and Daryl, but me being involved feels right. I don't understand."

Harry had been dreading this. He was scared if he told them about them being his mates that they would think that he had them under some magical spell or something. "Do you remember the day when I was telling Carl about mates?"

Thinking back, Rick nodded his head. "That was the day that you told him werewolves and unicorns were real. Carl couldn't stop asking you questions."

"Rick, there was a reason why only you and Daryl could see those cuffs that I had been wearing."

"The ones that prevented you from using your magic?" Rick asked.

"Those," Harry growled, remembering how horrible it felt to have his magic sealed. "You and Daryl could see them because the two of you are my mates. Everyone, even nonmagical people have soul mates. You and Daryl are mine. That's why you could see the bracelets and that's why you could remove them."

Taking a step back, Rick scratched at his beard. "So what you're saying is, you, me and Daryl are supposed to be together...sexually? But I don't have those kind of feelings for Daryl, just you."

"That's because I'm your soul mate, not Daryl."

Rick was having a hard time wrapping his head around what Harry was saying. He wanted to believe him, the boy had been honest with him so far, but what he was saying just didn't make sense. "So you need two mates? Is that normal?"

Harry was relaxing a bit seeing as Rick wasn't accusing him of bewitching him. "I didn't pay much attention to this stuff when we were leaning this, but from what I remember, if a witch or wizard is above average magical power wise, then they would require two mates."

"So you're a powerful little wizard?" Rick grinned, taking a step forward, grabbing Harry's hand then slowly pulling him towards him. He could tell that Harry had been worried that he would freak out over the whole mate thing, but being with Harry felt right and he wasn't going to question it too much. He had lost so much in the last year and a half, he wasn't going to lose anything else. Harry was his...end of story.

Harry went willingly to Rick, resting his cheek on his strong, muscular chest. This was nice, he liked being close to his mates. He wasn't scared that they would push him for more before he was ready, if he was ever ready, he just knew that they would never hurt him. He didn't know if it was his magic or what, but instinctually he knew that they were safe.

"Daryl and Carol will be alright, Harry," Rick reassured again. "They may have found out something about Beth."

Wrapping his arms around Rick's waist, Harry nodded his head. If Daryl was dead, he was pretty sure that his magic would let him know. He was scared, terrified for Daryl, but he didn't feel as if his mate was dead or in mortal danger.

"Are you alright with going back now?"

Harry reluctantly stepped out of Rick's warm embrace. "Yeah, my magic is under control now. Thank you for getting me out of there."

Taking his hand, Rick started to lead his mate back to the house. How crazy was that? Mate! Harry was his mate. He was going to have to learn more about this mate business.

Harry stopped when he felt a tugging on his magic. Looking around, he spotted a tree towering over a hundred feet tall. It was separate from the rest of the trees, sitting in a small open field soaking up all the sun. Reclaiming his hand from Rick's, he slowly made his way towards the tree, eyes scanning the area for any walkers.

"Harry?" Rick questioned, following after the small, young man.

The tugging on Harry's magic became greater the closer he got to the tree. With a slightly trembling hand, he reached out and placed his hand on it. Gasping loudly, he grinned up at the tree in amazement when magic soared through him. It almost reminded him of the first time he held his wand. "Rick, what type of tree is this?"

"Black Walnut," Rick answered. He could have sworn that he had seen Harry's hair blow in the nonexistent breeze when he touched the Walnut tree.

With a grin on his face, Harry walked around the old tree, his hand never leaving it. Frowning when he saw that all the branches were too high for him to reach, he walked back to his mate. "Can you please reach one of the branches for me and break me off a piece about sixteen inches long?"

"A little short are we?" Rick joked as he easily reached a branch and broke a piece off. "What are you going to do with a stick?"

"I'm going to make a wand," Harry said excitedly, holding the stick in his hand while savoring the feel of his magic connecting with it. He couldn't use it yet, he still needed a core, but it was a start.

"You can just pick up any old stick and make a wand?"

"No, there has to be a connection. The wand always chooses the wizard," Harry explained. "We don't learn about wand lore in school, but I felt the tree calling to me. As soon as I touched it I knew that it would make a perfect wand."

"So that's it? You now have a fully functioning wand?" Rick asked curiously.

"I wish," Harry sighed. "The wand still needs a core, and even if I find a core, I have no idea how to make a wand."

"Core?" Rick asked, feeling lost and confused. Still, learning about all this was very interesting.

"The core is normally a piece of magical creature that is placed inside the wand. Most common cores are Phoenix feathers, unicorn hairs and dragon heartstrings. I have no clue where I would find a core here, or how the hell to put it in the wood."

"I'm sure you will figure it out," Rick said confidently. "There was a reason why that tree called to you. The first wand makers didn't have anyone teaching them. Maybe your magic will help you?"

Yeah," Harry grinned. He wasn't use to someone having so much confidence in him. It felt really good. "I'll really be able to help once I have full use of my magic." He hated feeling like a burden.

"Worry about healing yourself first. Let Daryl and I handle the rest for now."

"I hope Daryl is back," Harry said anxiously, reaching out and grasping Rick's hand.

Rick silently agreed. The group needed Daryl, he was their strongest member. He didn't think he could hold the group together without him. "If not, he will return. Daryl always comes back."


End file.
